Sunflowers of Inferno - Reboot !
by TiLiYu
Summary: After all those exciting trailers, have you also been frustrated when you saw the 19th movie ? I was... So here is my version of that movie, the one I thought we'd have, with more tension, more challenges, more 'what the hell are you doing Kid' from Conan .. ; ) For the plot, just refer at the 19th movie's, the beginning (though only the beginning) will be the same... or almost :p
1. Prelude

**Gôka no Himawari - reboot**

 **Hi there ! Time for a new project, a shorter one than usual (10-15 chapters), for a change ; )**

 **To be honest, I've been thinking about that fic for quite a while already but I was so sure someone would do it I didn't dare to begin. But well, the 20** **th** **movie is soon coming, and the little game of what will be in the movie and what won't (compared to the trailers) is starting again, so that idea tickled me once more, I had to do it ! : )**

 **So here is the version of the 19** **th** **movie just as I was kind of expecting it to be. I was so hyped after the trailers that I had to look at the movie twice to know if I liked it or not. One view wasn't enough, I hated it the first time : the trailer had even been showing fake scenes, I was so frustrated... o.O**

 **I'll be trying to put in that story most of the things we saw in the trailers : ) I also got rid of all the things that annoyed me (bye bye DB - sorry for the CoAi, guys :p, useless tears from Ran, plot holes - since when Sonoko is representing the Suzuki Zaibatsu ? o.O And how old is Jii ? Dear, even if he was 20 when the painting was burnt in 1945, he'd be 80 now ? And still working as a bartender and jumping everywhere as the assistant of the Kid ? The hell of a health o.O, etc...).**

 **From Conan's perspective, the story will kind of look the same until the action in the Lake Rock Museum. But we'll also have Kid's... ; )**

 **I'd like to thanks all the fans who subbed the movie and also bobbyneko for the translation of the book, it was very useful to me to follow the time line : )**

 **Well, enough chit-chat, time to begin !**

 **I'll start with two chapters today, and will try to publish twice a week... Else it'll be once, I'll see.**

 **Personal PS : Nooo my first fic without Heiji ! ;_;**

* * *

 **SUMMARY : Same than the movie... xD**

 **CHARACTERS : Conan, Kid as main, second will be the like the movie (Ran, Sonoko, Jirokichi and his 7 'samurais', Jii, Nakamori)**

 **SPOILERS : None**

 **PAIRINGS : Canon**

 **RATING : T (safety measure :p)**

* * *

 **Prelude**

* * *

 _"To the Kaitou Kid._

 _I'd like to employ your skills to steal the second "Sunflowers" of the Van Gogh's series._

 _The painting will be sold in two days in an auction in the New York World Trade Center._

 _Your price will be mine."_

Kaito smirked as he paused the voice mail he just had Jii to listen to through his phone.

"- See, I'm world-famous now ! ... Jii-chan ?" He asked, when he could only hear silence at the other side of the line, not exactly the reaction he was expecting.

\- ... That's impossible." Konosuke whispered unbelievingly.

"- What's impossible ? Hey, with the quality of my shows, of course someone would notice me !" The teen pointed out with a slightly pouting voice.

"- No... It's just... The painting, it shouldn't...

\- Jii-chan ? Are you alright ? " The indigo-eyed asked with concern, feeling there's was something wrong with his old partner. He quickly decided this chat had to be done face to face. "You're at the Blue Parrot ?

\- Yea but...

\- Don't sweat about it, I'm coming."

o.O.o

The two men were now facing each other at the bar, Kaito sitting on one of the high chairs in front of a glass of lemonade while Jii was having, and that was quite unusual to him, a glass of brandy.

After one last sigh, the old man finally began his storytelling.

"- This is a story from my father. I told you he kind of raised me alone, right ?"

The man went on at the teen's nod.

"- This happened quite before I was born thought..."

 _"It was during WWII. My father had been hired as a servant a few years beforehand by a wealthy family in Ashiya. On that day, the 6_ _th_ _August of the year 1945, he unfortunately got trapped in the middle of the air raids that targeted that city and witnessed how it turned it in a blazing hell. He had befriend a carpenter who was also working for that family, Azuma Kiyosuke, and, when he saw him running to the living room he knew what he was wanting to do. The Sunflowers. That merchant family was rich but not that much so they were extremely proud to have been able to get that painting. It was displayed in their living room, fixed to the wall to prevent any theft._

 _But what had been protecting the artwork was going to destroy it : it would burn down with the house and my father and that carpenter understood it quickly. They had to fight against the other inhabitants who were escaping, being the only two mad enough to want to go back to the house._

 _Azuma arrived a few minutes before my father who had been slowed down because he walked into the young mistress of the house, Umeno, and the girl had wanted to come with him._

 _And when they entered the living room, they knew it was already too late. The ceiling had fell across the room, cutting it in half, them and the exit on one side, Azuma and the painting on the other. The carpenter had been hurt, his head was bleeding and his legs were in bad shape but he was still fighting against the painting's fixations, desperate to free it from the wall._

 _"Azuma-san !" The girl had yelled._

 _"Don't come any closer ! ... Come on !"_

 _With one last groan, the man finally succeeded and threw without a second thought the "Sunflowers" to my father._

 _They both exchanged a look. And both knew the man wouldn't make it._

 _"Ojou-sama" The carpenter finally said after a pained grimace when he fell on his knees. "Please look after the "Sunflowers" !_

 _"No, Azuma-san ! Azu..."_

 _My father stopped her at the last moment to rush into the blaze and that probably saved her life, since more debris fell from the ceiling barely seconds after._

 _"Azuma-saaan !"_

 _"Ojou-sama, we need to get out !" He ordered after releasing her while he wrapped the painting in his jacket._

" _Even if we lose this war…..we can't let that painting be taken away…." The carpenter said after a little cough. "That "Sunflowers"... It should be displayed in a museum in Japan, for all the people from the world to be able to admire it..." He concluded with a little smile, his eyes looking intensely at the girl's._

 _My father had grabbed her after that, half dragging her while she put horrified eyed on the flames that just swallowed Azuma whole..."_

 _The old man paused, grabbing his glass and finishing it in a long gulp._

"- That's quite the sad story..." Kaito concluded as he watched Jii filling another glass with a sad face. "What happened to the painting ? Your father hid it? Or the girl took it ?

\- They decided to send it to Europe, saying it was a fake, so the Allies wouldn't get it. Apparently Umeno had a couple of relatives there.

\- And then, any idea of where the painting ended ? It should have reappeared after the war, right ?

\- Yea, that's the problem..." Konosuke agreed with a long sigh. "Umeno and my father had always wanted to grant Azuma-san's wish, to have the "Sunflowers" displayed here, in Japan. After a few years, my father tried to look a bit into it and learned that Umeno's relatives had been living in France but they died just at the end of the war. No one knew anymore were the painting was. Even later, I could feel that my father wanted to go to France to look for it. But my mother died when she had me so he never had been able to. That was a bit the unfinished task of his life... " The man stated, his eyes now dreamily looking at his glass.

The teen got up to put a hand on his shoulder.

"- Cheer up, Jii-chan, your father's and his friend's wish is pretty close from being granted. I've never really liked to work for someone... This artwork hasn't been painted to be hidden in an illegal collection..." Kaito added with a dark look.

Konosuke looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"- Kaito-bocchama...

\- Time to prevent a theft, for once !" The teen grinned maliciously.


	2. Chapter 1 - Auction

**Second chapter of the day !**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 : Auction**

* * *

"- Tadaima ! "

Conan, recognizing Ran's voice, took his eyes off the book he had in his hands to have a surprised look at the girl.

"- O-kaeri... Didn't you say you'd be late since you wanted to do some shopping with Sonoko-neechan ?

\- Ah, this had to be cancelled..." Ran deplored, though she kept a little smile when she entered in the living room. "Some of her bodyguards came to fetch her this morning, she had to go to New York...

\- New York ?!" The boy wondered. He knew the girl was rich but she wasn't the kind to throw her money at the other people's face and would never skip school for a fancy improvised trip on a whim... Keeping his childish personality and forcing some excitation on his face like all kids would when such a long trip was mentioned, he finally added. "Sounds cool !

\- Well, she didn't seem that happy to go there, apparently her uncle is preparing something... Her mother was supposed to be the Suzuki's spokesperson but she lost her voice due to a cold. So she forced her to go there in her stead, for her to practice for later...

\- Still sounds interesting, no ? What was she afraid of ?

\- I think she didn't feel persuasive enough to be able to control her uncle..." The long-haired girl embarrassingly explained before her eyes looked for the clock. "Let's switch on the TV, she said the event will be broadcasted live ! I promised her I'd watch."

Conan grabbed the remote and the TV finally showed a huge dimmed room, filled with people from all kind of countries, facing a scene brightly lightened. A man was standing behind a wooden lectern, a hammer in the hand.

Seeing the banner at the bottom of the screen was announcing "New York, America - the One World Trade Center", the small detective guessed this was the event Sonoko was supposed to take part in.

" - An auction ?

\- That's it. Though I don't know what they came to buy..." Ran admitted as she settled near the bespectacled child.

The boy turned the volume up for them to hear the auctioneer.

 _"_ _\- ... congratulations to our lucky buyer ! "_

 _A faint round of applause welcomed this statement : clearly the whole room was expecting something else and it was very probably pretty close. A few silent minutes passed, time for the staff to remove the item that had just been sold._

 _"_ _\- I think it is time to enter tonight climax..." The man started before he paused, unable to retain a little smirk, enjoying those many faces focused only on him, those ears drinking his words. "Let me introduce to you the star of this evening, a painting, the "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh !"_

 _To add to this dramatic presentation, the spotlights focused on the painting that just appeared above his head._

 _The half-asleep room suddenly jumped awake, everyone straightening on their chairs and cameras starting to flash in a babble of voices._

Conan could see the faces were mostly surprised but there were also some doubtful expressions that could be seen here and there.

 _"_ _\- Please, ladies and gentlemen !" The auctioneer asked loudly. "Our specialist will need some calm to give you more details and explanations about this auction."_

 _Seeing the crowd was quieter, the said-specialist, a bald middle-aged man, cleared his throat and started to speak._

 _"_ _It is said that Van Gogh drew seven paintings around the theme of the "Sunflowers". While the six other paintings are detained in public and private collections, the last one, the second work of art, was considered as lost during WWII in the city of Ashiya, Japan. This painting has been found in Arles last year but we kept its discover quiet, time to examine its authenticity with the most famous experts in Van Gogh's work. There's still to determine if that work is part of the "Sunflowers" set or if it's a new one but we can guarantee today, on the reputation of this auction house, that this painting has been drawn by Vincent Van Gogh."_

 _That last affirmation threw the room once again in a disorganized chattering, some getting their phone out to call whatever contractor they could work with._

 _"_ _\- I think you now have enough information to appreciate the true value of this work so let's open the bidding ! We'll start at $10,000,000."_

 _"-_ _$10,100,000!"_

 _"-_ _$10,200,000!"_

The small detective looked at the screen, astonished by the fast increase of the bids, the auctioneer was already at $25 millions ! Apparently, very few doubted the authenticity of the painting…

His eyes came back to the screen when the man excitingly yelled "$50 millions !"

The camera came on the man who causally doubled the current bid, a blond haired with a thin moustache in his forties, the hand around the paddle recovered with luxurious rings and jewels.

"- I wonder where is Sonoko..." The blue-eyed girl softly pointed out, feeling at the auctioneer's excitation that the auction was reaching its peak.

"-$100 millions ! "

Conan and Ran looked at each other, thinking exactly the same thing : this voice was really looking like Suzuki Jirokichi's...

And indeed, the camera quickly zoomed at the new bidder and they could see Sonoko was holding her paddle in the air, a bit embarrassed at the attention her uncle was attracting on them after such a proposal.

 _"- $100 millions !" The man with the hammer repeated after he cleared his throat not to sound too surprised. "Any higher offer ? "_

The camera scanned the room, stopping a little longer on the blond-haired who so proudly proposed his $25 millions, to see his bid long forgotten with a bitter expression but his eyes still showing he wanted to fight.

The azure-eyed boy had an involuntary smirk when he saw him. The man shouldn't try anymore, in fact, no one should : if Jirokichi was determined to buy that painting, he'd get it, he was too stubborn to change his mind.

But no one listened to that silent advice and the bids started once again to increase.

 _"- $110 millions!"_

 _"- $120 millions!"_

 _"- $200 million!" Sonoko's uncle's voice once again echoed in the room._

 _The girl had a slightly horrified gasp but nevertheless threw her paddle in the air, following her relative's unreasonable instructions._

 _"_ _\- Uh... So $200 millions for the number 705... Please wait a little while, we need to pause a tiny moment to catch up with the Intenet and phone bidders." The man with the hammer nervously explained, his eyes on the staff who was struggling with the non-physical buyers._

Conan smiled when he saw the auctioneer face who apparently just realized who he was dealing with a sweat-drop, his eyes staring at his personal screen.

The whole room was also incredibly quiet compared to a moment before, most having giving up and now just enjoying the show, their eyes on the two Suzuki.

 _"_ _\- Crap, I don't have that much free time to waste on my shopping..." Jirokichi grumbled just when the camera and its mike were on him. "No need to wait for the folks on the net, they should have come here if they wanted the "Sunflowers"..." He added before getting up. "$300 millions !"_

 _Sonoko, who had succeeded in keeping a straight face during the whole auction couldn't stop the astonished expression that appeared on her face when she heard her uncle and saw his satisfied smirk._

 _After a hushed silence, the auctioneer snapped out of his stupor and finally concluded, while hitting his hammer multiple times on his lectern : "Hammer price ! Hammer price ! The "Sunflowers" has been attributed to the number 705, for $300 millions ! Everyone, please give a round of applause to our successful bidder!"_

 _Jirokichi laughed loudly at this statement, prouder than ever._

The azure-eyed boy looked with bored eyes at the screen, not really able to understand such debauchery.

"- Well... At least, they didn't come for nothing..." Ran timidly concluded, a bit embarrassed for her best friend.

The screen switched to the Japanese news studio set, showing now two presenters, a male and a female.

 _"_ _\- That was quite exciting !" The woman concluded with a smile. "We'll be broadcasting the winner's interview live in a few minutes. In the meanwhile, could you give us some explanations about this work of art ? It is quite surprising such a painting reappears after so many years..."_

"- I'll be preparing the dinner, could you please call me for the interview ?" The blue-eyed girl asked as she got up to head to the kitchen.

"- Yea..." Conan vaguely answered, still focused on the TV.

 _"_ _... so it was burned ?" The female presenter was wondering. "But doesn't this mean this artwork is a fake ...?_

 _\- Well, most think it has been lost during the WWII but this is in fact just a rumour. So finding such a painting in that private attic last year in Arles was extraordinary, yes, but that wouldn't be surprising to discover even today some unknown work. Van Gogh barely sold anything during his life, most of his paintings have been given to friends and relatives and ended in private collections, their owners often ignoring who drew them._

 _\- So there could be more than seven "Sunflowers" ?_

 _\- That's one of the theories, since the artists often copy their own work. Look at the "Sunflowers" we know. Three of them have already repetitions. This one could be a repetition of Ashiya's painting. Another theory is that the "Sunflowers" of Ashiya was a fake. Or that it had been moved just before the blaze._

 _\- But the fact it has been painted by Van Gogh himself is a certitude ?_

 _\- Yes. We not only checked the painting techniques but, since it is hard but not impossible to copy very accurately a painter's style, we also compared its canvas to some other works from that painter and there's no doubt, it matches._

 _\- I bet our lucky owner would be pleased to have those details !" The woman smiled before touching her earplug. "Ah, it appears that the interview is going to start..."_

"- Ah, Ran-neechan, it's the interview !" The small detective warned, barely remembering he promised to tell her, too focused on the painting's story.

"- Coming, coming !"

The girl came back to the living room with a cloth in her hands, using it to rub them.

 _"-... comments from Mr Suzuki Jirokichi who was so determinate to own Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" he bid the highest price ever paid in an auction house. That's really impressive ! "_

 _Sonoko's uncle stepped to the mike with a grin, before clearing his throat._

 _"- Well, this went in fact just as planned so I must say I'm extremely pleased._

 _\- As... As planned ?!" The presenter could stop herself to stare at the old man with surprise and she wasn't the only one at all to be startled. "You were planning to spend $300 millions today ?_

 _\- Exactly." Jirokichi stated with a wide smile, amused by everyone's astonishment. "Sonoko ?"_

"- Wow she looks so... professional..." Ran stated when the girl nodded at her uncle and stepped forward, her delicate colouring emphasized by the light pink dress she was wearing.

 _"An unusual sight..."_ Conan had to admit, seeing the happy-going girl was for once looking serious.

 _"-...The Suzuki Corporation would like to announce we are actually planning to collect all the "Sunflowers" to organize an exhibition in Japan that would gather the seven of them together for the first time in the history. We plan to display them in the Lake Rock Observatory for what we've called the " Japan's Beloved Sunflowers Exhibition."_

"- They can do that... ? But some of those painting belong to private collections, right ?" The long-haired girl wondered, a bit stunned by her best female friend revelation, reflecting the TV reporters' reaction.

Art-critic or not, she could guess that, if one painting was worth $300 millions, gathering the 7 of them would be...

"- They're probably planning to borrow them from their respective owners, it often happens for exhibitions, the worldwide museums lend works of art to each other..." Conan proposed, knowing it was the only plausible explanation, even if it would already be quite the achievement to convince the other 6 owners.

 _"-... But how will you proceed ? Do you plan to convince everyone who possesses one of the "Sunflowers" to lend it to you ? Wouldn't that be extremely complicated ?" The presenter stated, doing her best to get a grip on herself and resume the interview._

 _"- Don't worry, we're already working on that matter" Jirokichi interrupted as he stepped once again forward to be closer to the cameras._

 _"- We contacted the six of them about this project beforehand and received favourable answers. With today's auction, those answers turned into definite promise of cooperation" Sonoko explained with a smile._

 _"- This acquisition helped but we also gave guarantees to the owners, notably thanks to the team of specialists I reunited !" Her uncle bragged, inviting with the arm a group of persons to come on the scene._

 _"- Specialists ?" The girl with the mike wondered while she looked at the three women and three men who were now on the Suzuki's right._

 _"- My Seven Samurai ! With them, I can guarantee the best in care, transportation and security._

 _\- Seven ? Just like the Sunflowers..._

 _\- And they are indeed related to Van Gogh's painting, by their appreciation of the artist and their abilities ! Let me introduce them to you !_

 _"Miss Miyadai Natsumi, an art historian and head appraiser."_

 _The woman, a young looking one with glasses and long brown haired had a little bow._

 _"Mr Azuma Kouji, another art specialist, renowned for his skills in reparation and preservation."_

 _A tall brown-haired man in a dark suit with a 2-days beard nodded slightly._

 _"Miss Keiko Anderson, in charge of the planning."_

 _A pony-tailed woman with a long nose and too much make-up bent a bit in a bow._

 _"Mr Ishimine Taizou, a long time specialist in artwork transportation."_

 _A plumb man appeared on the screen, his head more bald than black-haired, and gave a sign of the head._

 _"Miss Kishi Kumiko, our exhibit supervisor."_

 _The short-haired woman had a warm confident smile, knowing she was looking at her best in her purple vest, her white shirt discreetly showing her cleavage._

 _"And I would like to thank the New York Police Department who lent us one of their best men to look after the paintings security, the Inspector Charlie Nordhem."_

 _A stern looking man with blond hair and blues eyes nervously pushed his glasses with his thumb while eyeing the cameras._

 _"- But I see only six specialists ?" The presenter finally concluded after a short pause, when he saw that the old man wasn't going to introduce anyone else._

 _"- The last one will join us in Japan. Like Charlie, he'll be one of our supports in security. It's the famous Mouri Kogoro !"_

"- Oi, oi... " Conan couldn't stop himself, too surprised to see his clumsy substitute-uncle was involved in such a serious matter. "Did Occhan tell you anything about it ?" He asked to Ran, a bit wondering.

"- ..." was her educative answer, clearly a no.

 _"- Ah, that famous detective !_

 _\- I told you I gathered the best ! This exhibition has been my dream for a long time already, I will achieve it and smoothly ! I am a man who gets what he wants !" He concluded with a loud laugh._

 _That laugh turned short when something white stuck into the floor, just at his feet._

 _"- What the..."_

 _The cameras zoomed on the little paper, a card, with a little drawing on it._

 _A mischievous face with a monocle and a top hat._

"- The Kid !?" The small detective spurted when he recognized the familiar logo.

Seeing Sonoko's red cheeks and Jirokichi's frown on the TV, he knew he wasn't the only one who guessed that.

 _"- It's a KID card!" Someone finally yelled._

 _The blond-haired inspector got his gun out and his eyes started to scan the dark room they were in, since only the stage was lightened._

 _The cameraman, feeling he could have a scoop, also turned the video on the room, scanning it before suddenly stopping on a man who stepped forward, something in the hand._

 _"- He's got a gun ! Call the police !" Another voice yelled, and everyone stepped away from him in a panicked rush._

 _"- Drop it !" That voice belonged to the blond-haired inspector, who took his own gun out._

 _Grabbing his hat, the man in dark clothes had a smile._

Conan squinted, trying to recognize the Kid's face in the dark but without any success.

 _"- Hurry up and drop that gun !" Charlie insisted._

 _His smile getting wider, the man raised his arms in the air to suddenly throw a smoke bomb near his feet. A short moment later, now fully dressed in white, he threw himself at the door, knocking a few security agents on the way._

 _"- Stop it or I'll shoot ! " The NYPD agent yelled before jumping down the stage and rushing after the Kid who just passed the door._

The camera stayed on the door and Conan could bet he heard a few gunshots and that had him worried.

 _"- Kid-sama !" Sonoko yelled with a concerned face, sharing apparently the same doubts than the small detective, getting the camera back on them._

 _Her uncle put his hand on her shoulder to stop her to rush after the two men before putting his fingers on the hidden earplug he had on him._

 _"- Charlie, what's happening ... ? What ?! He shot at you ?!"_

 _Jirokichi's face was utterly shocked by the agent's declaration._

And the azure-eyed boy was reflecting his expression : Kid had never used guns, why would he start now ?!

 _Today wasn't the day he'd get an answer since the screen went back to the Japanese studio set, to show the presenter, embarrassment on her face._

"- Sonoko..." Ran worried, now that she couldn't see her friend anymore.

"- It's going to be alright, she was far away from the fight !" Conan wanted to point out, to ease the girl's concern.

"- But... What was that... Wasn't that Kaitou Kid someone who didn't use violence? And I thought he was only after jewels..."

For once, the boy hadn't the answers to those questions, since doubt was also swirling in his mind.

That card, that white suit... He didn't see correctly his face but these were his trademarks. But the acts weren't... Why did he appear ? And apparently just to show off, since he clearly wasn't aiming at the painting.

He focused back to the screen when he saw the presenter got what probably was an update from one of her colleague.

"- ... Hmm, it is still unclear as to what was the Kid's goal today but apparently he managed to escape through one of the 103rd floor's window..."

* * *

 **Ok, I know there's not much difference for the moment but we'll go there little by little : )**


	3. Chapter 2 - Hard landing

**Hi there !**

 **I was afraid I wouldn't be able to but no, here I am, for the chapter 2 (ok, it's the 3rd on FF but it's the second to me : ) ) and I will go back to my usual rhythm of a chapter on Wednesdays and another on Sundays.**

 **Sooo, first I'd like to thank you all, I wasn't expecting such enthusiasm for the beginning of that story since the first chapters are really close to the movie... So glad you appreciate the idea and I hope I won't disappoint you :p At least I can guarantee you I'll do my best to bring you to the epic scenes of the trailers in a way I hope coherent, and I won't forget to remain true to my own style ; )**

 **Enough the chitchat, here is a new chapter !**

 **o.O.o**

 **Opal Spirit : Yup, as planned ; )**

 **emmahoshi : Welcome back ! ^^ Haha, yea, it was a bit my purpose :p They could have done so many good things and yet, it ended... Oh well. I liked some scenes so I kept them, I do not see this movie as a lost cause ^^ It's more, as I said, the gap between what it could have been and what it ended to be that hit me ^^; Ah, the plot is something new to you then, great xD And yea, sorry, that's my heiji-less fic, promise, next one will be centred on him xD As to the auctions... I was checking and indeed, one painting from Van Gogh was sold 300mi$ o.O When you think no one wanted to buy those when the guy was alive, such a pity^^;;; Eh, nothing at all ? o.O Must be boring... ^^; I always look at the fics on the site, just to be sure I'm not missing something so I always have something to read (the only difference is the reading speed : one word out of 10 if it's poor, all the words if it's cool xD**

 **Eve Of The Stars : I knew I wasn't the only one ; ) Hope I won't disappoint you ~**

 **SilverQueen08 : Yes ! The break wasn't too long I hope : )**

 **SQUEEEEE D : Haha such excitation xD And another disappointed one ^^ Yea, I think what killed me was the motive... And the first version of the movie I saw was mistranslated so it sounded even poorer o.O But yes, if you forget the trailers, this movie is acceptable and clearly isn't the one I appreciate the less : ) Ah, have you seen that fight Amuro Akai in the trailers ? Seems so cool *.* Buut yes, I can't stop myself to wonder how much of these will really be in the movie... ^^; Apparently some know already since the premiere was a few days ago but no one leaked anything *sigh* As to the rest of your review, dear, I didn't know my fics could bring such passion xD So, well, thanks ^^ I know my style has its pros and cons so glad you accept it as it is : ) (as to the mistakes... Well, I'm also myself the strict kind in my mother language so I've always that little annoyance against myself to know I may be 'hurting someone's eyes' as we say in France with my approximate English... So I'm touched to learn you take the whole pack as my writing style, I find the idea really funny ^^). Ah, to be honest, I wanted to have a little break after Cold Drug since life is a bit busy nowadays but... I had those two ideas that didn't want to leave my head, I was back to writing before even noticing it xD So you'll have more of my fics, my dear squeeing follower ; )**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 : Hard landing**

* * *

On the other side of the camera, in the dark conference room, was another boy who had also stared at the scene when a Kaitou Kid card stuck into the stage. Though that boy's eyes were more bored.

Kaito, after politely turning down the offer of his mysterious contractor, was now looking at what was probably his new idea : a guy hanging around and jumping everywhere in a rather convincing imitation of his costume.

 _"The hell..."_

And, what was more, he recognized the voice of the one who contacted him among the six samurais.

 _"Great, well done, old man..."_ The teen internally ranted against Jirokichi and his misplaced trust.

This little performance, while it wasn't endangering the painting since it was in an ultra secured area at the other side of the building, had at least one purpose. Frame the Kaitou Kid. After that little demonstration, if the "Sunflowers" disappeared, he'd be the main suspect. And the imposter didn't seem to mind if his plan incidentally implied the Thief in white was a mad man shooting among a crowd with real bullets.

And, while Kaito wasn't the kind to be easily annoyed, what was happening wasn't something he could just overlook... And it meant he'd have to meddle in the protection of the "Sunflowers" more actively than he had planned to.

Consistent with his decision, he rushed after Sonoko and Jirokichi when he saw they were leaving, probably heading to the place the fake Kid was.

And indeed, when the three of them arrived, the NYPD agent Charlie was half hidden by a cloud of smoke, shooting a last row of bullets – very real ones also – at a broken window.

Stepping a bit in the back, unnoticed, the indigo eyed boy laid his eyes on the white wing that passed on the left of the window and immediately recognized something he was also using to organize an easy escape.

 _"A dummy... That guy doesn't seem that bad..."_ He frowned, starting to understand that respecting his promise to Jii might be a little challenge. _"Ok... Sorry Tantei-kun but time to use your identity."_

An arrogant smirk now on his face, he stepped toward Jirokichi and Charlie who were both still near the window, barely looking at Sonoko after that startled gasp she had when she recognized his face.

"- Looks like you'd need some help..." Kaito started with a strong voice, getting efficiently the policeman's and the old man's attention on him.

"- What are you doing here ?!" Jirokichi wondered, a bit harshly, still angry to have let his prey escape.

"- I heard Kid is targeting the "Sunflowers"... If you don't mind, I'd like to assist you..."

* * *

o.O.o

* * *

"- Why are we allowing him aboard ?" Charlie asked Jirokichi as he glared at the teenage detective who had his headset on his ears and was looking dreamily at his window. "You said it was off limits except for the crew and your 6 guests because it would be too risky...

\- Maa, he's a famous detective in Japan and a friend of my niece, no worries.

\- But he could be wearing a disguise ! His built is similar to K..." The blond-haired retorted, not really convinced by the old man's statements.

"- Stop being such a paranoiac, Charlie..." Jirokichi smiled, stepping towards to Kaito to prove his point and grabbing his cheek out of the blue, pulling it so hard the teen had to get on his feet. "See ? That's no disguise !

\- Oi, that hurt !" The teen complained, rubbing his cheek after the bald man let it go. " The heck are you doing, Jii-jii ?

\- Our American here is the suspicious one, I had to convince him !

\- He'd better stop accusing innocent people..." Kaito said with a dark glare at him.

"- That's my job to look into everyone." The NYPD officer answered in a cold tone.

"- That's it !" Jirokichi laughed while slamming his back.

After a last look, at the two men, the teen took advantage of the fact he was up to look around and to check the one he knew was after the "Sunflowers".

Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, he settled back with a frown.

o.O.o

"- Oi, oi, the plane really looks like this ?" Korogo stated as he raised his brow in a grimace of annoyance, his hands holding a picture of a multicoloured plane Nakamori Ginzo just gave to him.

The detective was in a private lounge of the Haneda Airport, waiting with Nakamori-keibu, a few other policemen, Ran and Conan for the Suzuki's private jet to land. His eyes fell on the wall of windows that allowed to see a large part of the runaways, as if he'd already be able to spot the plane.

"- Ok, we all know he's after the "Sunflowers" but there was no need to paint the seven of them on the damn fuselage...

\- Agree with you, Mouri, we also advised him not to but he said it was also for advertisement purpose...

\- That old man and his ideas... I thought it was your responsibility to stop him, Nakamori-keibu ?" The moustached man said with a glare at the officer while he put the picture on the counter in front of the windows.

"- Despite all my advices or orders, he never really listened to me, why start now..." The policeman concluded with a depressed sigh.

"- ... The guy is stubborn, indeed. Well, I guess it's a bit too late now." Kogoro concluded with a shrug.

Conan, curious to see how flashy had once again been Sonoko's uncle, used his arms to climb on the counter and looked at the picture.

"- Eeeeeh, Jirokichi-ojisan is really coming back on that plane ? And with the "Sunflowers" ?

\- Tsk, you again..." The old detective grumbled before grabbing the kid by his collar and glaring at him. "Brats should stay home instead of meddling with criminal affairs...

\- Well, Jirokichi-san asked us to bring him with us..." Ran reminded him as she stepped towards them. "He's the Kid Killer after all...

\- Such bullsh...

\- Tou-san !" The long haired girl stopped him before he ended his swear word with a scolding look. "No in front of a kid !"

Annoyed, her father glared a second longer at the small detective before putting him down.

"- Just don't get under our feet... And don't loiter around !

\- Haaaai !" The azure-eyed child agreed, though he knew he'd jump at the first opportunity he could seize if there was any sign of the Kid being around. Though, right now, since nothing happened, he'd keep with his obedient child's play...

"- Ran, don't take your eyes off him, we don't want him to disturb the police and the airport's staff...

\- I'll do my best but... well." The girl answered with a smile of embarrassment, knowing she was doing her best each time not to have him run away but he was so gifted to sneak out of her sight... She knew the fight was lost before even starting.

Her phone vibrating in her pocket caught her attention and her eyes widened when she heard the voice at the other side of the line while she was stepping a bit away from the group.

"- Sonoko ?! But... aren't you on a plane right now ?

\- Hey Ran !" Her joyful voice answered. "Yes, I'm still on my way back so I'm using the aircraft's line... I couldn't wait, guess who is with us !

\- ...I don't know ?

\- He didn't want me to tell you so you'd have the surprise but..." The brown-haired girl's voice was now just a whisper. "Kudô-kun in on board !

\- What ?! Shinichi is with you ?!"

That was quite enough to catch Conan's attention, since the boy knew that was impossible, he was the one and only Shinichi and he was right here !

 _"Kid !"_ He ranted in his mind, jumping on the counter to come closer to Ran and her phone.

"- Where is he ?!" The small detective yelled, so frustrated right now not to be able to warn anyone that Shinichi was an imposter and that the painting was in danger.

"- Eh, he was in his seat a second ago but... Woaaaah !"

o.O.o

That's when Kaito saw his contractor-to-be coming back from the back of the aircraft with a grave face that he knew something was going on. Getting up discreetly, he sneaked into the hold, where the painting's case was solidly attached to the floor.

Well, where it _should have been_ solidly attached to the floor. Because right now, all the bonds were dangling along the wooden box. And that meant no good.

That bad feeling became certitude when a bomb exploded and the door opened, sending half the cargo outside, including the painting.

 _"Crap..."_ Kaito had just the time to swear before being drawn outside by the depressurization.

o.O.o

"- Sonoko ? Sonoko !"

Paling, the long-haired girl turned to the group, having already tried for a few minutes to get an answer without succeeding. "Sonoko isn't answering anymore..."

"- Nakamori-keibu, you were right, there's a problem !" An officer yelled, the one who left on Nakamori's order after all heard Sonoko's cry to check if there indeed had been an explosion on the aircraft. "Looks like something happened, the plane is on fire !

\- What ?!" Ran asked with worry, stepping with Conan towards the windows, the boy jumping on the counter once again to be able to see. "But Sonoko is..."

Nakamori, Ran, Conan and Kogoro had all their looks stuck on the plane with its burning engine that was coming at them at high speed.

 _"I can't believe... That would be the Kid ?!"_ The small detective thought with astonishment, his eyes filled with fear for the plane's occupants and for the ones in the airport if the vehicle kept its trajectory.

Seeing the aircraft was making a u-turn, he had a relieved sigh but... While the danger for the airport was temporarily lifted, that wouldn't help anyone aboard.

o.O.o

Holding the plane only by the tip of his fingers, the Thief had helplessly witnessed the painting's case explode in a burst of broken metal and secure glass, damaging even more the already burning engine. And now, the "Sunflowers" was falling towards the ocean, where the salted water would irreparably destroy it.

Not agreeing at all with this fate, Kaito sweat-dropped at the idea of what he was going to do. Freefall. And the first step was to be able to let the plane go without ending in the engine or against the wing.

 _"Better not think about it..."_ He thought with a smirk, using his poker face to give himself some courage.

And the second after, he let go.

Forcing his eyes to open and forcing his lungs to breathe once again, the teen, after a few moments of a rolling mess along the winds, finally got a grip on himself and could have a relieved smile when he spotted the painting, the yellow of its sunflowers pretty visible against the blue of the sea.

Knowing he had to be the more aero dynamic possible, he stuck his arms against his body and dove head first at its pursuit, clenching his teeth with the pressure.

 _"Come on, faster..."_

But, just as if jumping after a canvas falling at high speed to the seas wasn't enough of a challenge, his eyes spotted a white wing on his left side, the imposter was also on the move !

Seeing his speed, guessing the man wouldn't be as gifted as him with a glider, Kaito decided to ignore him and to just keep rushing towards his objective.

As plan, he eventually was the first at the painting and, taking his Kid's gloves out not to harm the canvas with his fingers, he stretched his hand to grab it.

To see it being pushed away when a violent gale hit by the side.

With a frustrated groan, the Thief approached it once again, hand stretched in front of him, desperately trying to grab the "Sunflowers" and, at the last minute, finally caught it and released his glider just before touching the water.

o.O.o

"- Nakamori-keibu, I have more information about the plane !" A panting policeman declared as he came into the private lounge. "There was an explosion, it destroyed one of their engines and it is still on fire... They're coming back for an emergency landing on runway A !"

Conan, as he heard the man, slammed his hands on the window, frustrated not to be able to see anything from where they were.

Deciding he couldn't just stay there, he jumped off the counter and ran to the door that was still held open by the policeman who had warned them.

"- Ah, Conan-kun, don't... !" Ran tried but the boy was already out, ignoring her calls.

"- Let's follow him !" Kogoro proposed and he, Nakamori and the officer rushed to the door, on the child's heels.

Ran, on her side, since her friend wasn't answering anymore, looked up once again at the window with a frown of concern.

"Sonoko, Shinichi, please be alright..."

o.O.o

Gulping to keep his stomach in place after that sudden fall and the sudden rise that just followed, the Thief tried to spot his enemy, clinging as he could to the "Sunflowers" with his left arm.

But his opponent, after looking at the Kid's acrobatics, had taken his gun out and was already pointing it at him with a menacing glare.

"- Gimme that." He ordered

"- Taking my face then order me around ? I don't think you've done your homework as to who was your opponent, Mr Imposter..." The teen smirked maliciously, despite the fact he knew he wasn't really able to defend himself, not with the canvas disturbing his flight and making him able to only use one arm. "And I'm sure you don't want to see that painting at the bottom of the ocean so you won't shoot..." He concluded before heading at the airport, wanting to put it back into safety, at least above the ground.

The man put his gun back to his vest with an annoyed grimace before focusing once again on his clumsy flight. Never mind, he was also wanting for the Thief to go above the concrete of Haneda.

Because he had something else.

Seeing they were both reaching the first buildings of the airport, he grinned and took out one of his favourite weapons. If his timing was right, he'd just at the retrieve the "Sunflowers" on the roof of one of those buildings. He pulled the pin out of his grenade and counted until two to throw it at the Kid, before using a building as a cover from the blast.

"- Got you, brat !" The fake Kid smiled when the explosion echoed in the air.

o.O.o

Conan was rushing through the international terminal, pushing the people waiting at the arrivals gates. He knew just a bit further he'd have a perfect view of the incoming aircraft...

The boy froze when he finally reached the hallway he wanted to be in, now perfectly able to have a horrified sigh at what he was watching.

The flamboyant plane had been able to somehow land but, with its speed, it hit a nearby plane, leading to the explosion of the engine that had already been burning. The whole right wing was now on fire and the speed was still too high, despite the reverse engines and the fins doing their job.

And, even more annoying, with that hit, the aircraft's trajectory had changed and it was heading right at the international terminal, just where the small detective was...

"- To all the customers in the international terminal, please evacuate immediately !"

But the customers hadn't waited for this announcement, most were already heading to the exits and that warning only made them speed up.

Only Conan was staring with disbelief at the aircraft going on, straight in his direction, now just a few dozen of meters away.

 _"Just stop..."_ He silently prayed, his teeth clenched.

Apparently the Kami were listening to him that day since the plane stopped, at merely a meter of the window he was facing, so close he felt he would have been able to touch the aircraft's nose if he had stretched his hand.

But he preferred to let himself fall on his bottom with a relieved sigh.

"- So close..."

* * *

 **Sooooo, I think with this chapter, you'll start to have a little idea of where I'm going. I can't picture Kaito being the bad guy but, when I saw the trailers, I was sure it was an imposter who used the Kid's reputation to hide his crimes. So I'll be pushing the idea a bit further : )**

 **PS : Never ever touch an old painting without gloves. Sorry dear trailer but no bare-handed Shinichi grabbing the painting, this would be a fault as a professional thief :p**


	4. Chapter 3 - Retrieval

**Hi there !**

 **After that last chapter a bit cliffy, let's wrap the airport episode : )**

 **o.O.o**

 **Yuzurie : Ah well, I really like the movies, since there's a lot of action but it always disappoints me to see a nice idea turning into a barely acceptable scenario... Thank you : ) To be honest, I thought it was a bit strange to throw it into the ocean. They were close of the coast, the case is supposed to be water proof... I won't say it would have been a piece of cake but retrieving the painting intact would have been possible. So I had this idea of someone ready to get it : ) ps : Yea, I was kind of chocked to see Kid grabbing such an old painting with bare hands o.O**

 **emmahoshi : Haha, nah, I'm having you getting interested in a Kid's story enough for you to look further into the scenario ? xD And yes, fake Kaito was for me absolutely sure after those trailers that's also part of why I've been disappointed... So here it is ! : )**

 **SilverQueen08 : L** **ast time a reviewer told me he felt it was ages ago when it was two weeks ago so...** **I'm trying to keep the delay between two stories as short as possible xD Eh, just the same : ) Unless someone really close to him is in immediate danger if he doesn't steal this or this, I can't even picture Kid try to hurt a fly... That's just not him !**

 **Boogum : I think we were many to believe / hope for that imposter ^^;;; Well, stay tuned, you'll see ! ~**

 **Resha Tsubaki : Comme je le disais, je suis plutôt surprise que personne ne se soit lancé avant ^^;; Mais oui, j'ai eu du mal aussi, j'aime pas voir Ran qui pleure pour rien, ce CoAi était catapulté de nulle part (comme un peu beaucoup dans les derniers films /oav...) et le mobile... No comment ._. Comme je le disais, j'aurais du m'arrêter aux trailers xD Oui, c'est vrai qu'on a envie de le voir ce Shinichi : ) Après, l'un ou l'autre restait crédible. Le côté imposteur ou pas, je n'avais même pas imaginé que ca puisse être le vrai Kid donc autant te dire que le 1er visionnage m'a fait bizarre aussi ^^; Ah, le film Lupin était juste énorme, effectivement le gag du papa me fait encore marrer aujourd'hui (quand il sort son calepin sur conan dans ce bar, c'est juste... bref^^) et c'est vrai aussi que j'ai du mal avec les nouveaux films. Quand certains sont distrayants (je pense au 15 et au 16, je reste bon public : ) ), je trouve le 17 et le 19 juste montés à l'envers, y a ni queue ni tête o.O (je ne parlerai pas du 18 que je ne supporte pas mais pour des raisons toutes personnelles...). J'espère pouvoir te réconcilier un peu avec ce nouveau scénar alors : )**

 **ZeroXYami : Ah, sorry but I couldn't see any way for Conan to be active against that plane crash, except for a prayer for his favourite Kami xD But agree with you, the scenes with him looking at the plane were not really useful ^^; Haha, after watching it twice, it made a bit more sense in my opinion... But it had a huge room for improvement so well, I made this fic ^^ And anytime, I'm also doing it for my own satisfaction ; )**

* * *

 **Chapitre 3 : Retrieval**

* * *

Kaito had barely the time to wonder where his pursuer had gone that the grenade he sent at him exploded, flattening him against the roof of the building below.

Feeling he wouldn't be able to avoid to crash on it, he let go of the painting at the last moment and folded his glider to roll on himself, trying to cushion the blow.

 _"_ _The hell, he wants to destroy it or what ?"_ He ranted in his mind as he got up on wincing legs, his ears ringing after such a blast, his elbows and knees scratched by the concrete of the building.

The teen checked the painting, but having been able to control its fall, the canvas had gently landed on the back, the "Sunflowers" facing the sun, intact.

And his opponent also noticed it, since it was with greedy eyes he was heading toward the artwork.

"- You shouldn't take what's not yours, gentleman..." The Kaitou Kid smirked as he stuck a play card at his feet. "This painting, my face...

\- And then what ? Keep your toy for the playground, Kid, this is a matter of adults..." The fake thief spitted with irony, taking his own gun out, for once not a copy of Kid's but that meant it was much more dangerous.

Kaito had a smirk and threw a few cards in the man's direction before jumping at him and sending them both over the roof.

o.O.o

"- Hey, you ok ?" Kogoro asked when he saw the azure-eyed child was on the floor.

"- Yea..." Conan answered, getting up to see his substitute uncle and Nakamori-keibu were now staring at the window, seeing how close they had been from a disaster, with the plane almost touching the window of the international terminal.

Emergency vehicles were now surrounding the aircraft, spraying water on the wing that was still on fire, though it was starting to be tamer.

"- Oi, oi..." The policeman was finally able to say after a chocked silence. "It stopped so close...

\- We barely avoided the worst..." The moustached detective agreed as he looked at the aircraft's door being opened and the inflatable slides being deployed.

Looking at him, the bespectacled boy could only agree and that brought a sour taste in his mouth. If the pilots had been just the slightest less skilled, the plane and a good part of the international terminal would just be a blazing memory...

 _"_ _Since when the Kid does that kind of things ? He's desperate or what..."_ He wondered, as his eyes laid on the plane's fuselage.

But his interrogations were interrupted when something white caught his look, some kind of triangular shape looping above a building before being hidden by it.

"- The Kid !" Conan spurted as he got up and started to run to that side.

"- What ?!" Kogoro wondered, looking at the window without seeing anything.

"- The Kid was there and I bet he's got the "Sunflowers" !"

Startled, the officer and the detective looked at each other.

o.O.o

The fake Kid had opened his glider just before both hit the ground and that sent them flying in the air in a looping, something Kaito didn't really appreciated as he was barely being able to hold to the man, having to stop for a second to try to have him letting go of his weapon.

The man, seeing he was destabilized, sent a nasty punch to his temple as they once again went down behind another building.

But that wasn't enough to affect the teen's resolve and he fought with his right hand for the control of the glider while the left was stopping the gun to come too close to his face.

After a fierce struggle and a few exchanged blows to each other, the strange pair half-crashed half-landed on the building they just left, just near the "Sunflowers", but the man had the luck to see his fall softened by a side wind that went into his wing when Kaito didn't and heavily landed on the floor, sliding on his back on the concrete. What stopped him was his head hitting the little edge on the roof but it had nothing agreeable.

"- Looks like the fake is better than the original..." The man smirked as he came by, his weapon turned at the Kid.

"- You wish..." Kaito retorted with a malicious face, his hand discreetly rumbling in his pocket.

The fake Thief's gunshot echoed just when the original's smoke bomb exploded.

o.O.o

Still on the run, his eyes on the building he saw the Kid's glider, Conan opened an emergency exit that lead outside, almost bumping into a man in the airport's uniform.

"- Hey, you shouldn't be here boy !"

The small detective shrugged internally, remembering the "No trespassing" panel he saw on the door he just pushed and speeded up towards the stairs from a fire escape to climb higher in the complex.

But the man had decided this was really not a place for a little child to be and was trying to follow him so the azure-eyed teen used his small size to hide behind a metallic panel, holding his breath, time for the man to pass in front of him.

"- Where's that damn kid..." The guard ranted, turning his head left and right, having lost sight of his target.

With a frustrated grimace, he gave up and walked down the stairs, taking his walkie-talkie out.

 _"_ _Calling for reinforcement I bet... Better be quick !"_ Conan motivated himself, glad to have been able to avoid that close call.

o.O.o

The man, not able to see the Kid anymore though almost sure he hit him, decided it was a better idea to retrieve his loot than losing time with a wounded brat so he got out of the remaining smoke.

But if Kaito had taken his leave, it was because he knew.

He knew that guy was doomed.

Because he had been able to spot Conan opening the door just behind them.

"- Like I'd let you !" The bespectacled boy yelled when he saw the fake Kid bending to grab the "Sunflowers".

The man tried to raise his gun to aim at the child but a whizzing soccer ball knocked his hand, throwing his weapon over the roof and forcing him to step back.

"- Brat..." He swore in a low voice, before menacingly heading toward the azure-eyed detective.

But his look got caught through the glass door the boy just went through by two other men, one with a weapon while he was now gun less...

"- Tsk..." was his last word before, too far from the painting and not ready for such an unequal fight, he decided to take his leave and jumped over the roof, flying towards the ocean with his glider.

"- Crap !" Conan swore, running to the edge of the roof to see his prey escaped with the greatest displeasure.

The other one, on a part of the roof just below, flattened against the wall not to be seen, a hand clenched on his left arm, was on the contrary showing his pleasure.

 _"_ _I knew I could leave it to you, Tantei-kun..."_ The Thief thought with a smile of relief when he saw the white shape flew away empty-handed.

o.O.o

"- If anyone had touched it with bared hands or if it stayed any longer under that bright sun, it would have been a disaster but it's only some dirt... I'll be able to remove it without difficulty with my material once we'll be at the Suzuki's mansion." Kouji concluded with a smile, relieving the tension in the room.

The seven samurais, Conan, Nakamori-keibu, Sonoko, Ran and Jirokichi were back in the private lounge, their eyes filled with expectation while the specialist in painting's repairs, Azuma Kouji, was studying the canvas with the material the airport could find to help him.

"- That's great news !" The old Suzuki spurted with a slam through his back at the info. "Prepare yourselves, things are going to get busy !" He added, his eyes shining at the idea the exhibition he dreamt of was really going to happen despite this crazy interlude.

"- ... See, on this picture he still had the painting..." Nakamori was now saying to Charlie, since his agents brought him some pictures taken by the security cameras.

"- Seeing how big and how heavy the "Sunflowers" is, he perhaps let go of it unintentionally when he passed over that building..." Charlie proposed.

"- We've been quite lucky then, it apparently didn't fall from high..." Kogoro concluded, not really sure about the NYPD officer's theory since it would meant only pure luck saved that priceless treasure.

"- It's not only about luck, that's also thanks to our little Kid-killer just here we found it so fast and that before even that Thief had enough time to come back to retrieve it !" Jirokichi wanted to point out, approaching to ruffle the boy's hair with a big laugh. "Well done once again, boy !

\- Ah, that's not me, it's Shinichi-niisan, he was after the Kid and he saw the painting fell around there..." Conan denied, embarrassed by the gesture of Sonoko's uncle and trying to go back to his 'I'm just a child' image, using that fake Kudô the Kid impersonated as an excuse.

"- Where is that brat by the way ?" Kogoro wondered as he looked around.

"- I have seen him last on the plane." The blond-haired officer stated. "That's fun how he tends to disappear when the Kid is near... Just as if they were the same person...

\- I don't think that's possible..." Ran stated, having approached when she heard her childhood friend's name. "I've already seen the both of them together more than once and I'm not the only one..." She explained, while Sonoko was nodding her agreement with her statement.

"- Clearly, that's quite the ridiculous theory..." The moustached detective pointed out with a flat look at the American. "No, the true question is to know why the Kid had to fly over the airport when he probably knew we would be here...

\- Yea, agree..." Nakamori said, folding his arms with a thoughtful face. "He had the painting as soon as he blew the aircraft's door out, he just had to leave...

\- I bet he just wanted to admire his work, like a murderer coming back on his scene of crime to enjoy the sight...

\- That's...! Kid-sama is not a murderer !" Sonoko intervened, throwing an icy glare at Charlie after his extreme explanation to the Thief's strange acts.

"- Come on, girl, want to believe it or not, nothing but luck prevented us all to be killed in that plane !" He snapped with a look of disapproval. "Look at how close it stopped from the international terminal, imagine how many could have been killed ?!"

The girl stayed still, her mouth open, not really able to give some arguments. She knew, in her heart, her dear Kid wasn't a killer but, in a fight of feelings against solid proofs, the latter was always the winner.

She wasn't the only one who darkened, Ran, Conan and even Nakamori and Jirokichi were displaying troubled expressions.

"- I must admit it's hard for me as well to face the fact KID would go so far as to crash a plane…" The inspector observed with a troubled voice.

The small detective could only agree. That shootout in New-York and now crashing a plane in Haneda's airport ? And what was that menacing aura the Thief had when he approached him on that roof earlier ?

 _"_ _What's into you, Kid ?!"_


	5. Chapter 4 - Fifth Sunflowers

**Heya !**

 **let's go further into the movie's story !**

 **Time for our fake thief to threaten the the fifth "Sunflowers"... :p**

 **o.O.o**

 **TheDarkKunoichi : Yup, I also like to see a Conan who _doesn't know_ for once, and I think it must be pretty funny to see from Kid's point of view... : p Ah, then we had the same suppositions : ) Well, I was more into the impostor theory but the 'important hostage' scenario was credible as well (but since I already did that in another fiction, I didn't want to do the same ^^; ). Haha, thanks : ) I was also wondering why no one had done it earlier ^^**

 **emmahoshi : Ah nah, because of the smoke, Conan can see only the fake one : ) And the true one disappeared as soon as he threw his bomb : ) Eh, yea, he'll never make a living of his detective passion if he never asks anything in return... :p (lol for the cake, I hope you found one since to satisfy your wish for a cake ; ) ). Ah, nah, Charlie was the "I'm an annoying and violent guy but, in the end, I'm not that bad". He wasn't the culprit :p You'll see would his behind this in my fic near of the end ! ; )**

 **Boogum : Thanks : )**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Fifth "Sunflowers"**

* * *

The next morning, Conan was sitting on one of the green couches of the Mouri's detective Agency, his eyes on the newspaper, while Kogoro was listening to the sports results on his radio, his feet on his desk.

Of course, the first page of the paper the boy was looking at was covered by pictures of their adventure at the airport, especially one of the aircraft taken probably just where he was when it stopped, its nose almost touching the windows.

From what the article said, some bombs had been settled against the door of the cargo hold and, when they exploded, the painting had been sucked out. The investigation was still trying to determine if the bombs had been put in New York but the employee in charge of checking the cargo was missing.

 _"But there's the other theory..."_ The bespectacled child thought with a sour smile. _"That the bombs have been put there AFTER the take-off by someone from the inside..."_

And despite the old man's hopes, it looked like the owners of the other "Sunflowers" were now doubting and the exhibition was clearly being endangered...

Conan looked up when he heard the door open and saw Ran was coming in.

"- Tou-san ? You're not at the meeting ?

\- Well, the main race is only in three hours..." Kogoro shrugged as he removed one of his earplugs.

The small detective sent a flat glare at the man. He would have bet he wasn't planning to go there at all.

"- Then at least go at the morning session with the others, it is the strategy meeting, you should be there..." She sighed with exaggeration at her father's lack of motivation.

"- Maa, for such a simple task, they don't need the famous Mouri Kogoro yet!"

A bit helpless, the girl rolled her eyes as she threw a few letters on his desk.

"- Mail." She bluntly declared before turning to Conan with a smile when she saw he was reading the newspaper, a serious frown on his face.

"- Sonoko invited us as well, want to come, Conan-kun ?" The long-haired girl asked as she came by him.

"- Yea, of course !" The boy agreed as he let go of his newspaper.

"- What's that ? Fan mail ?!" Kogoro was saying with excitation at the other side of the room, holding a letter in front of his eyes.

 _"Oi, oi ..."_ The azure-eyed detective thought. _"If there's any fan mail, shouldn't it be mine ...?"_ He thought, half joking, half pouting, getting up to come closer to the man.

Ran was also on her way but, as the bell rang, she went at the door instead, to freeze a moment when she opened it.

"- Shinichi ?!" She exclaimed, and Conan turned his head so fast when he heard her he almost twisted his neck.

And indeed, _his_ face was at the door, with a warm smile.

"- Yo !"

The azure-eyed boy almost choked at the Thief's sass after everything he had done recently and looked at him with astonished eyes.

"- Come in, come in !" Ran invited him with a bright face, unable to hide her joy to see him.

The small detective shook his surprise off and stepped towards the teen, clearly willing to kick his shin until he'd have some answers, almost forgetting there were too many witnesses for his own good.

But since bad news never came only by one...

"- Ran !" Kogoro yelled, having paled a bit after he read his 'fan mail'. "Call the police !

\- Eh... What ?!" She wondered, leaving Kudô from the eyes a second to turn to her father.

"- It's the Kid ! He sent me a notice !"

To illustrate his statement, he held the card he had in his hand in front of him, showing the Kid's logo on it.

"- I'm on it !" The girl nodded before rushing towards the upper floor.

Conan turned to "Kudô" to throw him one of his cold glares but the Thief was only showing concern and stepped near of the moustached detective to read the card.

"- Tonight I will come for _La_ _Berceuse_ _'s_ left, the first copy" He said aloud.

"- That damn Kid, he didn't give up !" Kogoro swore.

"- Indeed..." The teen agreed, avoiding looking at the boy, knowing he'd only meet accusative eyes.

Noticing that fact, Conan squinted.

 _"Stay in your role as much as you want, I've got my eyes on you, Thief..."_

o.O.o

The six other samurais, taking their role quite seriously, were at the same moment all around a table at the Suzuki's, with Sonoko and Jirokichi, in the middle of their strategy meeting.

A man in a suit stepped in, interrupting a comment from Natsumi about reinforcing the video surveillance of the Lake Rock Observatory.

"- Excuse me, but this seemed urgent, the inspector Nakamori needs to speak with you, Jirokichi-sama...

\- Transfer the call here."

The old man grabbed the phone in front of him when it rang, to hear the inspector's voice on the other side.

"- Anything happened ?" He asked, under the others' concerned face.

"-... Understood." Sonoko's uncle finally concluded after a few grunts to show he was listening to the officer. "I'll check the vault but I don't think anyone broke in, I'm keeping you informed."

"- Sorry, we need to put a hold to this meeting." He stated after turning to look at the others with a serious face.

"- What happened ?" Charlie asked with a frown.

"- Is it... Kid-sama ?" Sonoko dared to ask, not really sure she wanted to hear the answer but she had to know.

"- Yes. He sent a notice to Mouri." Jirokichi paused a second as the samurais gaped in startle and concern for some. " 'Tonight I will come for _La_ _Berceuse_ _'s_ left, the first copy', it said.

\- It can't be... " Natsumi stated with widened eyes.

"- Are we talking about the left of _that_ triptych ?" Kouji added, guessing, just like the girl, what would be the Kid's next target.

As she looked at them, Kumiko finally realized. "Then the first copy would be...

\- Could you enlighten us ?" The blond policeman complained, bored of those unfinished sentences.

"- We are indeed talking about a 'Sunflowers'..." The woman stated as she turned to him. " But not the one here, no, it can only be the fifth "Sunflowers". And right now, it is in the Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art, in Shinjuku.

"- Not he wants not only my "Sunflowers" but also the fifth ?!" Jirokichi ranted. "Damn that Kid, he's so greedy..."

Taking his phone once again, he called his employee.

"- Gotou ! Call Nakamori-keibu ! We know what the Kid wants... And the place it is in !"

o.O.o

"- Ok, I'll be going to see the painting " The fake Kudô suddenly declared.

He, Conan and Kogoro were now facing the Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Art Museum, after Nakamori told them the riddle was mentioning the "Sunflowers" of this museum. The old detective had brought the three of them here with a taxi, and, being close, they arrived a bit sooner than Jirokichi and the officer.

"- Ok... I'll wait for them here, they should arrive in a minute, meet you there." The moustached man decided as he took a cigarette out.

"- I'll be going with Shinichi-niisan !" The azure-eyed boy declared, absolutely not decided to let the Kid coming any closer of the painting without any surveillance.

"- Let's go then !" Kaito proposed with a smirk before turning to the building's entrance.

The area was packed with skyscrapers and someone had the idea of settling a Museum at the 42nd floor of the tower they were facing. An elevator was going directly to that specific floor and led the two teens in front of the counter.

"- Not even a thanks ?" The Thief said with a malicious grin at the boy who was sulking at his feet after he bought tickets for two.

"- I don't know what you're playing at, Kid, but I won't let you have it your way..." Conan growled, absolutely not amused by the strange pair they were forming.

Keeping his smile, Kaito just shrugged. It was his fight and he didn't intend to collaborate with the little detective. Ok, that would mean the boy would perhaps be a bit too much of a hassle but he knew how to deal with him and taunting him was also pretty fun and made the whole act worth it.

Looking around, the Kid could now see how high they were, even able to spot the Bell Tree Tower through the window on his right. He stepped a bit further into the museum, the small detective still on his heels and, after crossing almost all the floor, they finally arrived in front of the next target.

The "Sunflowers" was presented with two other artworks, one representing a small village's entrance with a huge tree and the other a table with some apples on a white napkin.

"- There it is..." The azure-eyed boy concluded when he spotted Van Gogh's canvas and came closer to it.

The Thief also came closer and couldn't stop himself to notice an old lady on the bench right in front of the painting. His expert eyes laid on her, trying to find any flaw in what could be a disguise, but there was nothing to see. The woman was just an admirer.

"- That painting is really beautiful... You seem to also appreciate it." Kaito finally pointed out, seeing how focused she seemed, barely noticing Conan when he almost brushed her feet. "Do you come here often, Obaa-san ?

\- Yes, every day..." She smiled, though there was a little touch of sadness on her face. "It reminds me of my young days... Despite the fact this is not exactly the original painting of my memories..."

Spotting the sadness - and perhaps regret ? - in her eyes, the fake Kudô had a little smile.

"- A lady such as you shouldn't have such a sad expression on her face..." He gently scolded, handing to her a white rose coming out of nowhere as Conan rolled his eyes when he saw what he was doing.

"- Maa, thank you..." The woman smiled with a surprised look at the flower before grabbing it. "You're perhaps a bit too young for that but do your best not to have regrets in your life, young man. Take that advice as appreciation for the rose, from an old lady who has too many of those.

\- I'll do my best !" The Thief grinned, knowing it was for that exact reason he had grabbed his father's suit.

Turning his attention to the painting, he heard the elderly woman whisper.

"- ... Kiyosuke-san..."

His eyes widened as he recognized the name and he had a little smile. That world was really too small.

That woman it was... Yea, he could get why she'd have some regrets but, at the same time, didn't understand. She had done her best. Unable to save his beloved one's life, she had protected the "Sunflowers", just as he asked her to.

And now, Kaito was the one who was going to finish her task.

Soon she'd be able to admire the artwork she saved from the flames !

o.O.o

"- So it's safe after all..." Charlie concluded as he arrived and saw the painting at the wall, just near of Conan and the fake Kudô.

"- Yes, it doesn't seem to have been touched." The older of the two stated as he stepped toward them.

"- Is it really the target that Ki...

\- I don't think it's a good idea to talk about it right there..." Jirokichi interrupted Kogoro, his suspicious eyes on the other visitors, not really eager to become the centre of the attention.

"- Eh, right, sorry...

\- Let's discuss in the reception room, since everything seems alright right for now..." A man said, one the two teens didn't know, but his suit and the sweat on his forehead were indicating he was probably the director of the museum, the current owner of Kid's new prey.

Jirokichi nodded and the group, thief and detective included, stepped away from the "Sunflowers".

o.O.o

"- So, what makes you think the "Sunflowers" in my museum is the one the Kid targets ?" The bald man, indeed the director, both boys knew it now that he introduced himself when they settled in the meeting room, wondered with a frown at a picture of the Kid's notice. "La Berceuse is an artwork from the wife of Joseph Roulin and picture a woman rocking a cradle. I can't see any link to Van Gogh or to the "Sunflowers" on that paper..."

The man was sitting on a sofa, facing Jirokichi, Kogoro, Nakamori and Charlie while the rest of the samurais, the two boys and a few guards were standing around them.

"- The notice is apparently referring to a triptych..." The old Suzuki started with a sigh.

"- You know, when three paintings are reunited to form a set..." The moustached detective felt the need to add, getting himself a dark look from the director.

"- I of course know what a triptych is ... But what's the link ?

\- That's... What did you say already ?" Kogoro asked with a grimace of embarrass as he turned to Jirokichi.

"- Jeez... " Nakamori swore with a bored look at him.

"- Let's hear Azuma Kouji-san on that matter, he's the one who deciphered it after all." Charlie concluded before any of them got lost in explanations they didn't understand.

"- Sure. While the triptych has never been physically displayed, just try to imagine one with "La Berceuse" in the middle. What kind of painting would you put on the right and on the left ?"

The director closed his eyes as he indeed tried to picture the set before opening them in a flash as he understood.

"- You mean it's referring to that letter written by Van Gogh to his brother where he advised to put "la Berceuse" and a "Sunflowers" on each side to form a triptych ?

\- Exactly..." Kouji confirmed with a nod. "In that letter, Van Gogh even drew what he was thinking of. While it is hard to determine exactly which "Sunflowers" he was mentioning, we can imagine, based on his illustration, that the painting on the right who be the 3rd or its copy, the 7th "Sunflowers". As to the one on the left, it could be the 4th , 5th or 6th. If we consider the 4th as the original, then the first copy would be...

\- The "Sunflowers" exhibited here, the 5th one, I get it..." The director concluded with a sigh. "So what now ? That Thief said he'd come for it tonight, that's it ?

\- Yes, that's why we need to move it to a safe place immediately..." Nakamori insisted with a concern expression.

"- But we can't afford to bother our customers..." The director pensively stated before taking his chin between his fingers. "We'll close the counter right now and wait for the customers in the museum to leave." He finally decided. "We should be able to close in an hour or so.

\- Thank you for your cooperation !" The inspector said with a wide smile, knowing how difficult it could be to close a public place and fearing the director would be more reluctant.

"- But still, it won't be easy to move such a big canvas..." One of his employees observed with a frown.

"- Don't worry !" Jirokichi intervened, his confident smile back on his face. "Let's not forget I gathered a team of specialists and I've got exactly the person we need, _ne_ , Ishimine ?

\- Yes sir !" The plumb man guaranteed with enthusiasm.

* * *

 **Did I mention it was a DB-cut movie ? xD**

 **Sorry for the CoAi but it really made no sense here...**


	6. Chapter 5 - Stolen

**Hey there !**

 **After that surprising appearance of our favourite Thief, time to see if, in my version, he's able to prevent its theft or not ! What, the title already says it all ?! oopsie^^;**

 **Well, hey, you'll see how our group retrieve it then... ! :p**

 **o.O.o**

 **emmahoshi : Yup, but this isn't his first time : ) And since Kogoro is one of the two responsible for the Sunflowers' security, he's sure he'll always be the closest of the artworks like this :) Ah, in fact, the old woman wants to see the 2nd Sunflowers but since she can't, she comes to watch the 5th everyday... The museum's director will even ask to Jirokichi to invite her to the exposition. As to why the Kid tries to steal the 5th sunflowers... I should look at the movie again to remember ^^;;; Ah nah, in the movie, Charlie is doing suspicious things (and idiotic ones, like getting a weapon on Japanese soil ._.) and is always saying the Kid is a heartless criminal but in the end, he just wants to protect the paintings. Maa, or yo can just enjoy the fic as it is ; )**

 **Boogum : Yup, it was pretty funny for me to write too : ) And I'm clearly not over with the Kid taunting our little detective, not at all xD**

 **James Birdsong : Thank you ! : )**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 : Stolen**

* * *

As promised by the director, the museum had been closed earlier than usual and all the occupants of the building had been evacuated, just in case.

But there was still a lot of life in the skyscraper's vicinity, with the police force in, around and above it, using helicopters to watch the airs and cars to block the access to the entrances.

The group that had been earlier in the meeting room with the director was now in the section of the museum where the "Sunflowers" was, looking at Ishimine giving orders to his staff.

"- Slower... Yes, perfect. And that's it !"

The painting now in his crate, the bald man turned to Jirokichi and Nakamori who was just near him with a smile.

"- And in barely thirty minutes, that's the Cheetah Delivery Service for you !" The officer congratulated the man, impressed by his efficiency.

"- We have more than one hour before the sun goes down, looks like we'll make it..." Kogoro observed after a glimpse at his watch, his look now back on the "Sunflowers" comfortably laying in its wooden box.

"- There's just the lid left and we'll be over." Ishimine announced.

"- Let's us help you with it !" Keiko proposed, glad to have found something to do, unable to stay still in such tense atmosphere. "Help me, Natsumi !

\- Let me assist you" A guard, the closest to the lid, proposed as he started to bend at it.

"- I'm sorry but the team's members should be the only ones to manipulate the box, as a safety measure..." The long-nosed woman refused, shaking her head. "Thank you for the offer, though.

\- I'll help then." Kouji volunteered and Kumiko came too by the two girls' side while the man backed off.

Seeing the size of the lid, better be one on each side to avoid any accident.

Ishimine's men were finalizing the wrapping of the canvas, so the boss nodded at Keiko for them to bring the lid over.

"- We'll take it, thank you" One of the two employees said as both positioned around the box, ready to present the lid the four brought.

"- We should check the vault now..." Charlie advised to Kogoro and Nakamori, coming closer to them.

 _"_ _He's right... The only way to get that painting now will be by forcing the vault..."_ Conan thought, his suspicious eyes on the fake Kudô who was resting against the wall, his arms crossed against his chest. " _That will be such a hassle, when there are so many exits here..."_ The boy frowned, unable to understand what the teen was playing at, his eyes now on the lid that was being lowered down.

"- Wait ! There's something under the lid !" He suddenly spurted when something caught his attention.

"- Stop right there, brat !" Kogoro yelled, grabbing the small detective by the collar when he saw he was going to rush at the wooden box.

"- But there's... It looked like a Kid's card !" The azure-eyed insisted, struggling to get free.

"- Really, boy ?" Jirokichi asked with widened eyes, knowing the child wouldn't make such a ruckus unless it was important. "Ishimine, look at it !

\- Yes sir ! You two, lift the lid up !"

The bald man bent and froze when he recognized the Kaitou Kid's doodle on a card stuck with tape against the wood.

"- It's a Kid card ! " He confirmed as he grabbed it to read it. " 'I have indeed taken the Sunflowers. Kaitou Kid.'

\- The hell ?!" Nakamori swore as he came closer to look at the card. "The painting is just here, so what does he mean ?

\- Could it be that the "Sunflowers" here is..." The NYPD agent started to propose with a grave face.

"- A fake ?!" Jirokichi exclaimed with an astonished face.

Everyone froze when the old man said aloud what Charlie was implying and all the faces turned to the painting.

o.O.o

The group was now in the video surveillance room, where the artwork had been brought.

"- That's unusual for the Kid to lie about the time he'd steal something..." Kogoro frowned as they all were looking at Natsumi who was bending on the "Sunflowers", trying to appraise it.

"- It never happened before, that, I can tell you..." Nakamori admitted with a kind of disappointed face.

"- It made it easier for him to fool us..." Charlie concluded with a shrug. "To trust a thief's saying, what were you expecting... That guy is a criminal, ready to do anything to steal what he wants, even blowing up a plane..."

A disappointed silence was filling the room, Kogoro, Nakamori and Jirokichi bending their heads, unable to retort anything. They had to admit the Kid was using extreme tricks for these "Sunflowers" and that tarnished quite a bit the Thief's reputation.

 _"_ _There's something so wrong ..."_ Conan thought as he brought his hand to his chin.

It was driving him crazy, to see the Kid was just here, playing his "Kudô" role as if nothing was wrong, when he seemed pretty determinate this time to get his preys. And not to be able to tell anyone the guy wasn't a detective but a damn thief was not helping with that matter...

Seeing Natsumi was getting up, the director looked at her in a tensed expectation.

"- So ? What do you think ?

\- It's either the original or an excellent copy." The girl stated with a sigh. "I'd need my material to appraise it correctly... Do you think you could leave it to me ? I'd be able to give you a firm answer if I study it in my company's studio."

Knowing the bespectacled woman was a professional and unable to stand to have this kind of doubt about such a precious painting, the man nodded. "Please do. I think I'll be able to convince my superiors, we can't have any doubt as to this painting's authenticity..."

Feeling a hand was now on his shoulder, the director turned to look at his owner.

"- That won't be necessary, director..." The man said, a security agent, before taking a card out and putting it into the museum's director's pocket with a grin.

"- That's a Kid card !" He yelled as he recognized the logo on the notice that was being put in his vest.

"- That's it..." The disguised agent confirmed as he gently patted the pocket he just put the card in.

"- That whole appraisal thing was a trap... !" Charlie quickly understood, guessing easily who was under the disguise.

"- I can indeed guarantee you this is the one and only fifth "Sunflowers"... "The man smiled with a nod.

He then pushed the director away before grabbing his own clothes and throwing them in the air, revealing a white suit.

With bemused eyes, Conan was turning his head, his look switching between the fake Kudô on his right side and the Kaitou Kid in front of him.

But before he could even try to think about an explanation, the Thief in white got a gun out and shot the surveillance monitors and, finally, the room's lights, plunging everyone in the dark and the smoke from the broken computers.

Kaito, expecting something to happen, had thrown himself towards the painting, to see Natsumi and Kouji were here, protecting it with their bodies from the glass fragments from the broken screens, but, before he could reach them, he heard them yell.

"- Azuma-san! Miyadai-san! Are you okay!?" Conan asked, not able to really see what happened since he was a bit further away.

The real Kaitou Kid had helplessly watched the man in white tie them quickly with some wires and pushing them away. The teen tried to at least grab the canvas in the confusion but his fingers barely brushed it when then the imposter violently pushed him away and grabbed the "Sunflowers" with a smile.

Kaito had a small grunt when he fell on his already wounded left arm but it didn't stop him to jump right back on his feet, to see the criminal was escaping through the entrance.

 _"_ _Crap !"_ He swore before he rushed after him, avoiding at the last minute the tear gas grenade the fake Thief threw behind him.

"- We're alright..." Kouji confirmed to the boy who was now in front of him and Natsumi.

"- But never mind us, the "Sunflowers" has been taken !" The girl added with concern before coughing because of the gas.

"- We need to take them out !" Nakamori yelled as he recognized the smell. "This is tear gas !"

Having noticed "Kudô" wasn't anymore in the room, Conan barely heard the inspector since he was already passing the door, Charlie on his heels, running the fastest he could to try to catch the Thief. And the one who probably was his accomplice. The only question was to know who was under the Kudô's disguise and who was under the Kid's.

o.O.o

Kaito had been able to follow the man until the roof and, seeing the number of helicopters in the air and their spotlights searching the building, he guessed the police would soon spot the man in white.

The fake Kid, a smile on the face, brought his hand to his hat's rim in a kind of salute when he saw the teen had been able to follow him.

"- Not bad... But I don't think you'll be able to follow these !"

The man slammed something on the floor that covered the roof with smoke almost instantaneously and, a few seconds later, different streams of smoke were thrown in the air in every direction with a loud 'bang!'.

Kaito rose his arm to protect his face and, once the smoke faded, he looked up at the skies. Spotting dummies with gliders in all those streams, the teen could only grin with a mix of admiration and frustration.

 _"_ _Not bad, Mr Imposter..."_ He admitted as he brought his right hand to his wounded arm _._

o.O.o

"- He's on the roof ! And there's that high school detective too..." A voice yelled through the walkie-talkie Charlie had on his waist, one Nakamori gave him and was directly broadcasting the police's frequencies.

Conan stopped his run and looked at him : that information was probably coming from one of the helicopters above the building and it was confirming his doubts, the Kid had an accomplice and they were both going to escape !

The both of them rushed towards the closest stairs, they were just a floor away.

"- The Kid threw some projectiles in the air..." The radio was going on. "There's smoke, we can't see him anymore ! "

 _"_ _Faster..."_

The small detective was raging at his own slowness, feeling there would be no one left when they'd finally reach the roof.

And they were there, at least, and, to Conan's surprise, when the blond-haired slammed the door open, he could see that the fake Kudô was still on the roof, a bit panting, and his eyes on the skies.

"- We're too late... " Charlie pointed out with a frustrated sigh when he looked up.

"- Sorry, I tried to stop him but... " The teen detective apologized to the NYPD agent, shaking his head.

Barely listening to him, the inspector approached the edge of the roof, his eyes once again on the fumes in the skies.

"- I can't believe that guy… He manipulated us from the beginning and, in the end, just as he said, he stole the "Sunflowers" by night…."

The boy activated the zoom and the night vision of his glasses and tried to look into the different fumes escaping from the roof, spotting a few dummies and, finally, one shape that looked quite human and was holding a canvas in his arm.

Conan approached the fake teen detective and saw his vest was open, flapping in the wind, indeed showing he couldn't have hidden the "Sunflowers" on him. And that confirmed what he saw with his glasses.

"- So your accomplice has it ?" The azure-eyed child flatly concluded, being careful to be heard only by "Kudô".

Kaito shrugged, hesitating for a second to answer honestly. Their opponent was gifted, inventive and violent, not the best combo at all, so he might need his little critic's help but that would mean putting him in quite a dangerous situation... And that face he was making right now was... He couldn't stop a malicious grin and that pissed the little detective off even more.

"- Damn thief, you better bring that one back, like you always do..." The boy growled with frustration, unable to do anything else.

o.O.o

A few hours later, the whole group was sitting back into the meeting room of the museum with depressed faces. They had been expecting the painting to reappear quickly, trusting that habit of the Kid to give back the loot but every minute passing without a sign of him was darkening each face and the hope to see the fifth "Sunflowers" again was fading away.

Conan, perfectly aware of who, in that very same room, could help them with that matter, had been giving Kaito an accusing stare almost all the time.

But the teen didn't seem to mind... Standing in a corner, he had been extremely focused on something at the beginning, but that something wasn't happening in the meeting room, clearly, so the small detective suspected he may have an earplug. The fake Kudô was now using his phone, apparently texting something to someone but what, the azure-eyed child didn't know, though he would have bet it had something to do with the "Sunflowers".

Looking up at him once again, Conan frowned when he saw a faint stain on his left sleeve that seemed to reflect the light in the room.

 _"Is it ...wet ?"_ He wondered, not really understanding what he was looking at. Unless... With such a dark vest it could be... _"Blood ?!"_

The boy was going to move to have a better point of view but was interrupted when the door violently opened.

"- Director !" A man called, panting from his rush, holding something white in his hand. "We just received this card, we think it's the Kid !"

The old man got up, a frown on his face, and Nakamori did the same.

"- 'I will hand over the Sunflowers I have taken for the reasonable price of 10 billions yens. Let's meet in two hours at the Touto Plaza Hotel in the room 1432. Bring old bills and put them on the bed. If you can't, the deal is off !' " The inspector read aloud, his expression darkening at each word.

"- 10 billions ?!" The director was sweat-dropping at the idea. "And in two hours ?! I'll never be able to...

\- At least, it makes that Thief's objective clear, the only thing he has been after was the money..." Charlie flatly concluded, happy to find some fuel to his 'Kid-is-nothing-but-a-criminal-fiend' theory.

On his side, the azure-eyed child was doubting it. Kid had never been in for money. For show maybe. Challenge perhaps.

From where he was, he looked at his face and spotted some light in his eyes. It looked like... Amusement? He was not getting it...How the hell this could be 'amusing' ?

 _"Kid's, what's into you ? Or... If it's really some blood on that sleeve... Are we facing two entities ? An imposter?"_ He proposed as he ruffled his hair, frustrated not to have any answer when such a precious artwork had been stolen.

"- But his request is absolutely not reasonable, how can I gather 10 billions so quickly? " The director complained once again as he looked at Nakamori who was in front of him. "Do you think the police could... ?

\- Nope. To be honest, I think there's only one person in all Japan who is able to pull out something that crazy..." The inspector began before turning to Jirokichi with a flat glare. "The good news is, he's in that very room."

The old man had a satisfied smile. "Very well, I'll get the money ready.

\- Really ?!" The director wanted to confirm with a hopeful face.

"- But I'd like something in return." Suzuki added with a more serious expression. "Would it be possible, if we're able to retrieve the painting safely, to borrow it for the exhibition ?"

The owner of the fifth "Sunflowers" sighed with relief, having been expecting something out of his reach. "Of course, if you can get it back, my superiors will agree, no doubt about it !

\- And do you think your museum could have a word with the other owners and try to convince them? "

The director had a little smile, he now understood where the old man was going but he had no problem with it in the end : if it meant he'd have his "Sunflowers" back, everything else was secondary. "I get it. I'll do my best.

\- That's a deal !" Jirokichi concluded as they shook hands.

"- Great !" The inspector said, getting up with a smile when he saw both men had an arrangement. "I'll head there immediately with my men and prepare the room. Meet you all there !"

 _"All ? I'm not sure we'll be_ all _there..."_ Conan thought with irony as he looked up at his neighbour and saw the faint smile on his lips. _"I bet that one has some preparations to do..."_

* * *

 **I had to change the room's number *sigh* But well, would have been too much of a coincidence if the room the bad guys chose had been the '1412'... ; )**


	7. Chapter 6 - Notes flying

**Heya !**

 **Oh, that scene with Kid among the bills was thrilling, I was glad they kept it, it was so mysterious : ) (well, they couldn't make everything fake, eh ? ^^;). Pity it doesn't look as classy when it's written on the paper than on the screen : )**

 **Soooo, time to see what the Kid imagined to counter that imposter... he's due to have some idea under his white hat ! ; )**

 **o.O.o**

 **Boogum : Thank you ! And yea, I wouldn't want to irritate someone like the Kaitou Kid... That imposter may think it is fun right now but he may change his mind once our favourite Thief finds him ~**

 **emmahoshi : Well, as long as you appreciate my story, I don't mind if you look at the trailer or not to be honest xD But yea, have fun finding who is who, just like the movie, it won't be revealed before a while ! : ) Oww well, I think Conan is pretty much frustrated and he thought he'd be able to retrieve that painting by keeping an eye on Kaito but it didn't work since he didn't leave the room... He wouldn't have any clue as to where to start his search... (and it was the same in he movie). Ah, I'll give more explanations about those 10 billions in this chapter ; ) But yea, I'll also do something else with 10 billions than trying to retrieve a painting and not batting an eye if I lose all that money... We'll never understand the rich people... ^^;**

 **TheDarkKunoichi : Haha, don't worry : ) I said I was going to try to write something that would fit the trailer and, if you remember, there's that scene in the Lake Rock Museum where Conan seems absolutely lost as to who he's facing, thinking the Kid betrayed them all. Since I plan to get there, no chance for our detective to find the truth ; ) But he had to think about the imposter, this was an absolute evidence, with the Kid so OoC in that case. So you'll have more of this frustrated Conan and teasing Kaito, don't worry ; )**

 **estelle : Oh, right into my objective then, thank you :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 : Notes flying**

* * *

When that imposter showed up and started to break the surveillance screens, Kaito decided it was too risky to show his true identity to stop him. Okay, he would have been able to stop the fake Thief but the man had at least one accomplice, the one among the samurais, and he wouldn't be able to defend the other "Sunflowers" against him once everyone would have understood there never had been any Kudô since the beginning.

So the teen decided to use another way and jumped at the opportunity : when his fingers brushed the canvas just before the criminal pushed him away, he had been able to put a tiny emitter on it.

The Kid was now back in the meeting room with everyone, listening through his hidden earplug at everything that was happening around the fifth "Sunflowers", waiting for it to be hidden somewhere he could retrieve it and hoping to get more information about the duo he was facing.

And indeed, after some noises that had everything to do with a flight in the air and then a walk in a busy street, meaning the man had probably changed his clothes and found a way to quickly disguise the canvas, the sounds faded away and there were only some footsteps left. The man was inside a building, the artwork's final destination was probably near.

"- It's me." The criminal finally said, after he dialled some number on his phone. "As planned, I'm in the Touto Plaza Hotel, room 1432..."

Kaito, wanting to hear the other side of the conversation, turned the volume up, all ears.

"-... "The last super" painting on the wall?" The other voice was saying, a male's, quite deep. But none that the indigo-eyed teen knew.

"- Yea ?

\- You can peel it off, just hide the "Sunflowers" under it, we'll keep it there as a backup for the moment.

\- Ok, I'll do this. What's next, Boss ?

\- We wait. I have a reservation for that room for a week, time to see what happens. But I'm quite sure that, with such a blow, that old man's exhibition will be cancelled, just as planned !" The Boss said with a small laugh. "Once it's confirmed, we'll organize our little walk to Suzuki's vault to at last get what I really want ! The fifth will just be a bonus, it will look great near of the second on my wall...

\- Do as you please, as long as I'm paid, I'm with you !

\- Thanks for the hard work by the way... I'll call you back once I got more news.

\- Noted."

The call ended and, after a few noises indicating the man was hiding the painting, there was nothing left to be heard in Kaito's earplug.

Keeping a straight face for whoever was looking at him - he knew at least a certain little guy was, the teen frowned in his mind. He had been hoping to heard that third man's name since it seemed he was the mastermind but no luck on that matter.

As to the rest, the discussion had been more than interesting. He knew where the painting was. And the place was supposed to stay empty for a while, time for them to steal the second "Sunflowers"...

And the Thief had now enough intel to understand why their target suddenly changed from the second Van Gogh's painting to the fifth. They had probably learnt, through their mole's info, that the security in the Lake Rock Observatory would be too high and that it would be easier to steal it in the Suzuki's mansion. That attack on the fifth was just a diversion, a plan to discourage the owners to lend their "Sunflowers" and to cancel the exhibition. And that was a success... Even if the artwork was retrieved, since Jirokichi and his team let that theft happen just in front of their eyes, the owners wouldn't trust him anymore. Unless... If Kaito found a way to make the old man look good, it could work ! If he was the only one able to help and succeeded to get the "Sunflowers" back, it was sure that Jirokichi would ask him to convince the others as a thank !

Kaito grinned when the idea popped in his head. Yes, he just knew what he'd ask. It would a little sacrifice from the old man but... Maa, it would barely be a bucket of water among his ocean...

He took his phone out. It was time for Jii-chan to do some errands for him !

o.O.o

The museum's director was now sitting on a chair near the bed of the room 1432 of the Touto Plaza Hotel, passing nervously his handkerchief on his sweaty forehead.

"- Uhh... Do you really think it will work ?" He asked through the small earplug he had in his ears, his nervous eyes on the men who were coming back and forth with duralumin cases and emptying them on the bed.

"- it's not like we have any other choice..." Nakamori's voice sighed on the other side. "We can't take any risk if we want to retrieve your painting so we have to follow Kid's demands... It's almost time, please refrain from talking to us from now on, we can't have the Kid know we're here.

\- O...Ok..." The man stuttered, taking his bottle of water to sooth his dry throat with a few gulps.

o.O.o

"- Be ready, gents !" Nakamori declared after his discussion with the director.

The inspector was with Charlie, Kogoro, Conan, Jirokichi and a few persons from the staff in the room dedicated to security and surveillance of the hotel.

And, to the boy's lack of understanding, "Kudô" was there too. He had thought he'd leave at the first occasion but, except for a short pause to the bathroom, probably to clean his vest since his left sleeve wasn't stained anymore when he came back, he stayed the whole time with them.

 _"How the hell is he supposed to bring that painting here when he didn't move even an inch away from the group ?"_ He was grumbling in his mind.

"- Are all the exits secured ?" Charlie asked once again when he looked at the policeman.

"- Yea, I got everyone's confirmation, we even have the emergency exits and employees entrances covered. The roof is too, of course. We're ready." Nakamori confirmed with a nod.

"- I just hope for you Kid wasn't in here first..." Kogoro pointed out, his arms crossed against in chest.

 _"Bingo, Occhan..."_ The small detective sourly smirked with a glimpse at the teen on his side.

"- Even if he's here, we'll stop him from getting out of that hotel." The officer confirmed with a shrug. "With all those cameras, we'll be able to spot him easily !"

Conan looked up at the many monitors. There were indeed at least 20 cameras in the hotel, for the security of the customers. And the police had added some in more remote places : the roof, some hallways that only the staff used... And of course, in the room 1432, where at least six cameras where filming.

"- Still, why do we have to get the money out..." The moustached detective was wondering as he stepped towards the screens. "Wouldn't it be easier to let them in the cases to transport them ? Oi, brat, what do you think you're doing !" He suddenly spurted as, since he was blocking his view on the monitors, Conan tried to push his legs a bit to squeeze in front of him.

"- But I want to see..." The boy complained with a childish pout on his face.

"- There's nothing for you, brat." Kogoro stated as he glared at him. "Just be quiet !

\- Haaai..."

The small detective was backing off with disappointment, annoyed not to be able to watch out for any sign from the Kid's plan, when two arms caught him from behind.

"- If you want to see the monitors, you can do it from here." The fake Kudô proposed as he sat him on a chair in front of a computer, before clicking to open the videos. "Here.

\- ... Thank you, that's _so_ nice of you" Conan said with a glare at the imposter.

"- Would be a waste not to use your observation skills, _Kid-killer_..." The thief retorted with a smirk before quickly going back with the others in front of the main monitors.

This little game was driving the bespectacled child mad. How could that Thief be with them, looking so calm, when he was supposed to retrieve ten billions yens in barely five minutes ? Why didn't he ask for the money to be put on an overseas bank account? It would have been so much easier than hard cash... And why the hell was he _helping_ him ? Was he so confident in his plan he didn't think he could do anything against it ?!

"- ... The heck is that ?! Why are the medias here ? We should be the only ones to know about this deal !" Nakamori suddenly spurted, interrupting the boy's thoughts, when one of his agents warned him through his earplug. "Put a channel in !" He asked to one of the operator, and indeed, the info channel they were watching was already showing a reporter at the bottom of the building, commenting about the incoming Kid's heist.

"- Does he want to use the crowd to escape in the confusion ?" Kogoro proposed with a frown.

"- Well, if he's the one who called them, no use to change anything in the plan..." Charlie pointed out.

"- Agree with that..." Jirokichi confirmed with a nod.

"- Two more minutes then..." Nakamori announced as he looked at his watch. "Everyone, evacuate the area !"

o.O.o

In the hotel room, everyone left to stay on standby around, except for the director.

"- It's really hot here... Could I at least open the window ?" The man asked, clearly at Nakamori's attention since he was the only one who could hear him.

"- Please stand it a bit longer, we're not going to make it easier for the Kid if he plans to come through the window...

"- Right..." The director agreed before settling back into his chair, sweating more than ever.

o.O.o

On his side, Conan was focused on the screen. He could indeed see the museum's director seemed to sweat a lot, passing his handkerchief on his face like every minute.

But with such a pressure on his shoulders, that sounded quite natural.

No, what he was looking for, his eyes searching every pixel of each of the six cameras, was the trick the Kid had left somewhere. There had to be one, that was his modus operandi after all.

His eyes fell on the image of the middle, the one the director was on, and he half jumped on his chair.

 _"Something has changed... But what ?!"_

Unable to find what for a second, the boy tensed with frustration, before his eyes laid on the plastic bottle.

 _"The hell?! Something is already happening, he's using a damn remote system, he won't need to move a finger out of the security room !_ " Conan swore, understanding the fact the fake Kudô was standing here was just a lure for him to focus on him instead of what was happening in the hotel room.

Barely having a glimpse at the Thief and spotting the faint smile on his lips, Conan jumped off his seat and rushed to the door.

 _"Crap !"_

o.O.o

"- Come on, faster... !" The bespectacled detective was praying as he stood in front of the elevator.

"- Kid Killer !" Charlie called, having dashed after the boy when he heard the door open and noticed the child was missing. "What happened ?

\- I don't know..." The boy answered as he jumped into the elevator that at least arrived, the blond-haired on his heels. "I think the pressure in the room has risen greatly, since the director's bottle's water level has risen...

\- But why ...?

\- As I said, I don't know... But I bet it's the Kid and leaving it like that means we're going straight to our defeat..."

A few dozen of seconds later, they were facing the room 1432 and the NYPD agent was inserting the master key he grabbed before leaving the security room and turning the knob.

"- I can't open it !

\- Crap, the air pressure is pushing it from the inside..." Conan realized, before frowning as he wondered why the Thief would use such an elaborate trick to lock the door. Unless...

Looking at his watch and clenching his teeth, the boy knew he'd have pretty soon his answer, since only five seconds were remaining.

"- Damn Thief !" Charlie was ranting as he slammed his shoulder against the door in a desperate attempt to open it.

The small detective's countdown reached zero and at that exact moment, both could hear some small explosions and the noise of some glass being broken.

"- Come on, will you open, damn door ?!" The blond-haired agent swore once again before throwing himself at the door once again. "It moved ! " He exclaimed, before maintaining pressure on the door, pushing on his feet to open it with difficulty.

And suddenly, there was no resistance left and the policeman and the boy were welcomed by a bunch of notes thrown at their face by a strong wind.

Fighting that gale to come in, Conan could only gape at what he was seeing.

The director was grabbing firmly the bed, an astonished expression on his face. Notes were swirling everywhere in the room, though most had already been sucked up outside : small explosives had broken the window and the air difference forced everything that was into the room out.

The child could barely see the outside but, when he finally noticed a white shape at the window, there was little doubt as to what it was. Who it was.

"- Kid !" He yelled with anger.

Charlie turned at him at that cry and, looking at the same direction than the child was, he got his gun out with a focused face.

Seeing both his opponents and the forbidden weapon, the Thief just maliciously grinned at them before vanishing into thin air.

"- That damn Thief !" Charlie growled again, shooting a few bullets in his direction but, when he saw his prey had escaped, he lowered his gun under Conan's reproving look.

That weapon had nothing to do on Japan soil in the hand of a foreigner, even if he was a police officer in his country. And he used it so quickly and just against a thief... His methods were too rash...

o.O.o

"- Is everyone ok ?" A panting Shinichi asked as he came into the room and looked with a very convincing surprise at the mess around him. "I saw you on the video cameras...

\- Yea, I think..." The NYPD agent answered after looking at the boy near his feet. "But that thief escaped...

\- And there's no sign of the painting..." Conan added with a piercing look at the teen in disguise.

"- But he always keeps his word, right ? It should be somewhere around..." Kaito pointed out with a straight face.

Feeling this could be a hint, the small detective looked around him, trying to spot anything that could lead him to the painting. But the room was such a mess... Even one of the paintings on the wall seemed to have been damaged by that depressurization.

He came closer with a frown, having spotted something strange under the broken canvas, before his eyes widened.

"- Charlie-san, there's something behind that frame above the bed !" He yelled, bringing a faint smile on "Kudô" 's lips when he saw he was pointing at "The Last Supper", that painting from Leonardo da Vinci.

"- What the hell you two were thinking !" Nakamori raged as he came into the room, Kogoro and Jirokichi on his heels. "You messed up the whole thing !

\- Charlie, where's the Kid ?!" The old Suzuki asked with urge. "And the fifth "Sunflowers"?!

\- I'm sorry, the Kid escaped..." The blond haired deplored as he shook his head. "But we have the "Sunflowers", it's safe." He concluded as he finished ripping the canvas of the "Last supper", revealing the artwork they were looking for. "As to the money...

\- Don't worry, it's fine !" Jirokichi reassured him with a smile when he saw the man's disappointed face. "What are a few notes compared to such a treasure ! No, now, what's important, it's to have a press conference !

\- Ehh ?" Nakamori wondered as he turned to look at him

o.O.o

As planned, barely half an hour later, Jirokichi was facing a horde of reporters in front of the Touto Plaza Hotel. The old man was posing near of the recently retrieved "Sunflowers" with a proud smile.

"- Any comment about that new victory against the Kid ?

\- Ah ! There's nothing to fear from such a Thief ! I think I have proven to the owners of the "Sunflowers" among the world that they can be at ease !" The bald man concluded with a laugh while the cameras flashed at him and the painting.

A bit further, in the lobby, Conan was looking at the scene with a mildly convinced face.

What was that mess... Since when the Kid organized such a show to bring back one of his loots ? And why again a painting when his whole carrier was dedicated with big jewels ?

He turned at the fake Kudô who was just near him, also looking at the press conference, and, seeing there weren't any close witnesses, he finally dared to ask.

"- What's that mess about, Kid ?!

\- That's-a-secret- !" The teen answered as he winked with a malicious face.

"- Stop that crap or you'll end with a needle between the eyes..." The small detective growled as he took his watch and opened it to point it at the Thief.

"- Oi, oi, you did retrieve that artwork so why such an aggressiveness towards me ?" Kaito asked with a fake outraged expression.

"- Because you blew up a plane ? Sent ten billions yen through a window ?

\- That, I can explain... a bit."

The small detective threw him a flat glare before his expression softened, almost pleading.

"- What's into you, Kid ? I'm behaving for the sake of what happened in the past but... Everything I'm witnessing for a few days are just at the opposite of your beliefs... Are those things really you... ? You've been hurt, I know it, I saw your sleeve... There's someone else, right ?

-This is my fight, Tantei-kun. I'm big enough to deal with it, I don't need a tiny noisy detective to meddle in it." The teen answered with a firm expression. Reduced or not, a child had nothing to do in a fight with armed men and he was not going to imply him.

"- If you keep endangering people, I can't stay out of it." The child firmly declared, his eyes in the Thief's.

"- Don't worry, just keep behaving, I'm on it."


	8. Chapter 7 - Opening

**Hey there !**

 **Wow, we're already reaching the place of the movie's final scene ! But don't worry, just like every good action movie, this means we're barely passing half of the length of this story ; )**

 **Time to enter the "Sunflowers" 's museum ! ; ) (please be careful of uninvited guests xD)**

 **o.O.o**

 **Boogum : We're soon going there ! ~ I was also expecting that part so I've been having fun with a combi of those two on the next chapters :)**

 **emmahoshi :Haha, yea, since you have the side story, you should be able to get where our bad guys are going : p And agree with you, this isn't really an achievement to think the same than Conan, when what he think is that he's lost xD Maa, I also like mysteries and I also don't really know who is the culprit before the resolution (well, I'm kind of forcing myself not to think about who it could be : I'd hate to guess who is the culprit at the first chapter, I need some suspense ! ^^;). Yup, that conversation shows how much Conan is still clueless, to the point he's trying to bury the hatchet with the Kid to at least have some info... ^^**

 **kaitothegreat : Oh don't worry : ) I'm also the kind to put only one or two reviews per story (when I review ^^;) since I prefer to give an overview of what I liked in the fiction : ) . Yup, for once, this was a pretty bad idea to watch the trailers... While the movie wasn't that bad (we've seen so worse^^;), the trailers were showing another movie, not that one. But well, it is apparently a thing in Japan, fake trailers^^;;; Haha, thanks for being so excited, I hope I won't disappoint you ; ) And yea, I could have chosen, just like in the movie, to explain everything in the end... But it would have been a bunch of boring explanations, since we would have needed Kid's PoV, the bad guys' PoV... So explaining everything as it goes kills a bit the suspense but it gives some sense into a movie that was lacking some. And yea, this is a tili-cut movie : I always go straight to the point in my fics so all those descriptive / narrative / filler scenes are kept to a minimum ^^ Glad you appreciate that part of my style : ) Well, I was expecting a fake Kaitou, a fake Shinichi and more and more fakes during the movie, yet, our fake Shinichi lasted only a few scenes... Nah, I needed more xD Thanks ! I'm afraid we're reaching today the final scene of the movie so it won't last ages longer but I'll keep with the prompt updates ; )**

 **violet-snowflake : Hmm I could have answered you that, plot-wise, I needed Conan to 'stay in the dark' as to what and who is the danger. But, to be honest, even without that, I think that would have been so OoC from Kaito to ask for Conan's help or even share his problem with him... The Kid never accepts anyone's help (except for Jii, ok) : even when he's in a pinch, he wants to solve it all by himself. So yea, trailer or not, I would have kept it like that : ). Ah, expect more of Kaito / Conan working together in the next chapters ! ; )**

 **Lucade : Haha, anytime, I was also wanting something coherent with the** **trailers xD Sending it to the studio ? Crap, I should translate it in Japanese ? Uhhh... xD Well, that's a well-known problem some of the DC movies' directors don't know enough about DC. When sometimes it can bring some original and interesting ideas, sometimes, it's just OoCness and more OoCness... *sighs*But since that movie had the highest audience ever, I'm even sure that the directors in Japan think they did a good job ^^;;; So I'll keep my script for myself and whoever wants to read it on FF ; ) Oh, thanks for taking the risk xD I've also had a lot of disappointments, reading some fics that never ended, so I'm absolute about it : if I start something, I finish it ! Won't change with that story : ) If it can reassure you, I already know where I'm going, most of the writing is kind of over, I'm now more into editing (mistakes' and plot-holes' hunt^^). It'll be 12 chapters-long (well, 13 on FF since the prelude was the chapter one according to the site). Haha, no worries, this isn't my first language either xD**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 : Opening**

* * *

The following morning found Conan with bored eyes in front of the TV. Through Kogoro, he had heard the Kid had used a pressurization machine, one stolen in an aircraft, to create that difference in pressure in the hotel room. The device had been settled into the ventilation duct, unnoticed by the officers who were busy to put the notes on the bed.

The few openings left in the room had been filled to create an air-tight area. It almost sounded easy to organize but this was still quite the high level trick...

"- ... Suzuki Sonoko, of the Suzuki group..."

The small detective focused on the TV when he heard Ran's best friend name and saw that, indeed, she was on the screen with her uncle and a reporter. The theme seemed to be, according to the info on the screen, the presentation of the Lake Rock Observatory and its "Sunflowers"'s exhibition.

"- Yes, we had the confirmations of all the owners." She was saying. "Van Gogh's project was to draw twelve "Sunflowers" and to reunite them in Arles. We'll be using that idea and display the seven of them in our museum.

\- "Your" museum, indeed, we've heard that the exhibition will take place in the Lake Rock Observatory, a new name, isn't it ?

\- That's it, we've created that museum especially for the "Sunflowers"." Jirokichi confirmed with a proud smile. "Such wonders needed to be appreciated in a place dedicated to their beauty and able to assure a perfect security, something that didn't exist yet.

\- Let's see that presentation of the Museum you sent to us with you." The reporter proposed, and Sonoko cleared her throat to explain the pictures that were shown.

"- The Observatory has been built in a limestone cave that belonged to our company. The installation is in fact underground, extending in eight floors, and each has its viewing room."

The screen was now showing the plan of a cave with a spiralling tube.

"- So we'll be able to see each "Sunflowers" at each of these floors ? But what's the purpose of the 8th ?

\- We have a specific automated elevator that will take each painting to that last floor so the visitors will be able to enjoy the sight of all the seven "Sunflowers" at the same time.

\- So each will be able to appreciate each individually before viewing the set ! Quite the ingenious feature !

\- Exactly !" Jirokichi spurted. "But wait to hear about out security system before being too impressed ! The "Sunflowers" are linked to a sensor that, if anything happens, will put the painting in an enforced case, fire- and water-proof and send it to a secured vault above the water level. If that something is a theft attempt, it will even seal all the entrances, blocking any unwanted visitor.

\- And we didn't forget our customers security : we produce our own energy thanks to the lake near the museum so, whatever happens, the elevator and security system will not stop functioning" Sonoko added, as once again a short video was displayed on the screen.

"- That's amazing, you really thought about everything !

\- Of course, since that's the impregnable jewel box I thought of for some of the greatest treasures you could admire in this world ! There couldn't be any flaw !" The old man concluded with a laugh.

"- Oh, and by the way, how to come and visit the museum... ?"

Conan's attention left the TV now that they were going into hard advertising and that no more information about the Lake Rock Observatory's structure was going to be given.

 _"Impregnable, eh ?"_ He frowned as he gave it a though or two.

Indeed, the security system seemed to be efficient, with the automatic elevator bringing the artworks into safety if anything happened but... The Kid had never been afraid of a vault so why would he fear that one ?

And the energy autonomy sounded great but if the flow of water between the museum and the lake was interrupted, it would become a problem.

So no, "impregnable" wasn't applying there, absolutely not when they were facing the Kid...

* * *

o.O.o

* * *

When Conan had been finally able to see the Lake Rock Museum, he had to admit the Suzuki had found quite the extraordinary setting. The road was leading right to the lake, just near which the visitor parking was. As said on the TV, he was able to see a long water duct going from the lake to the top of the cliff where the entrance of the museum was, along with some strange conic building, probably sheltering the turbines that produced the electricity of the site, from what the boy remembered of the presentation.

The Observatory's entrance was also cone-shaped and recovered with glass that glowed under the summer sun. A part of the museum was even hanging above the cliff, the view from there was probably going to be breathtaking.

There were two ways to travel up to the top : a walking way zigzagging through the mountain, with some stands here and there and a rail way, the fastest way to get to the entrance.

Above the site, a few helicopters were turning around, probably a mix of security staff's and reporters', ready to watch the event.

"- Let's hurry, Sonoko told me she was participating to the opening ceremony !" Ran rushed him as they got out of the car that brought them here, one Sonoko had been sending to Kogoro's office to fetch her best friend and her 'freeloader'. "And Shinichi told me he'd wait for us at the entrance !

\- ... Great." The small detective concluded with a flat voice, knowing the Thief was inevitably going to be there but he didn't think he'd dare to meet Ran and him.

Looking up, the boy saw the long-haired girl had a slight blush on her cheeks, clearly impatient to be able to have some quality time with her childhood 'best friend', and that kind of pissed him off.

 _"_ _If that damn Thief does anything inappropriate, I'll throw him into that lake with a boulder around his neck..."_

o.O.o

"- Hello Ran ! Hello, _Conan-kun_ ! " Shinichi waved when he saw the two of them were going out of the railway's exit.

"- Hi, Shinichi !" Ran answered with enthusiasm, contrasting with Conan's icy glare.

"- Everyone, thank you for being here..."

"- Oh, that's Sonoko's voice ! Let's go closer !" The Tokyoite girl recognized, breaking her eye contact with "Kudô" with some pink on her face, stepping towards the stage.

"- Oy, I don't know what you're playing at but I'll break any part of yours that goes too close to her at my taste..." He growled with a low voice, having grabbed the Thief's sleeve so he'd stay a bit behind.

"- Don't worry, I came for another beauty today..." Kaito smirked, amused by those threats from a pint-sized child's mouth but also knowing those weren't idle ones, aware of the fact the boy had the resources to hurt him. Badly.

"- That also worries me, Thief..."

"- You're coming ?" Ran asked from afar, interrupting their little chat.

"- Haaai !" Conan answered and, after throwing a last menacing look at the teen, he rushed at her.

 _"_ _That's quite the knight you have, Miss..."_ The indigo-eyed magician grinned after that last dark look to him, before following the two.

Except for a few VIP guests, the entrances had been given through a lottery on the Internet so the place wasn't absolutely crowded, since only one hundred had been distributed.

The three of them had then no problem to find a place from where they'd be able to have a great view on the stage.

On it, five of the samurais were there, the ones who weren't in charge of the museum's security, as well as Jirokichi and his niece. The old man, as always in his traditional kimono, stepped in front of the mike after Sonoko welcomed the guests.

"- To you all who have been attracted by the fragrance of the "Sunflowers", captivated as I have been by their beauty, are your hearts ready ?!"

A loud round of cheers from the public answered his question.

"- Then let's open the " _Japan's Beloved Sunflowers Exhibition"_!"

A row of applause welcomed this statement while the reporters' cameras flashed but that noise was soon covered by the sound of fireworks being shot in the skies.

"- We'll soon begin to allow the entrance, please get in a line and prepare your tickets." A voice announced through the speakers once the fireworks stopped.

"- Let's go ?" The fake Kudô proposed as he turned to Ran.

"- Yes. Sonoko told me she gave us specific tickets and that we won't have to wait, there's a kind of VIP's entrance.

\- Great !"

o.O.o

On the other side, Kogoro was in the security room with some staff, Charlie, Nakamori and Gotou, who had left for the day his duty as Jirokichi's personal bodyguard to be in charge of the security of the site.

"- Is everything going smoothly ?" The old Suzuki asked as he came into the room, the other samurais on his heels now that the speech was over.

"- Yes, all areas are clear and we haven't any problem with the admissions at the moment, nothing suspicious has been detected by the x-rays." Gotou answered from his seat as he turned to his boss.

"- Great. So you three, please go to the areas you're in charge of."

At Suzuki's orders, three men in black with sunglasses got up.

"- Yes sir !" They said, before heading to the door.

"- Gotou, I leave this room to you.

\- Yes sir !

\- Just him ? You sure it'll be enough ?" Nakamori observed with a surprised face, seeing how many monitors the man was facing, too many for just one pair of eyes.

"- Our security system is half-automatic, it'll warn me if it detects anything suspicious. Better have the less people possible in that room, it's safer. " The bodyguard answered to the inspector.

"- I can only agree. Let's wait then..." The officer sighed as he crossed his arms against his chest.

o.O.o

Just as Ran said, the three of them were welcomed within the second as soon as they showed their tickets and said the name 'Suzuki Sonoko'.

Noticing they'd still have to go through the normal entrances and their x-rays, Conan couldn't stop himself from smirking at the Kid, in a kind of 'I'd like to know how all the stuff I know you got on you won't make the whole thing ring like hell'.

But the smile of the fake Kudô's face didn't fade as he casually stepped towards them and it was even with another smirk he turned at the small detective from the other side.

Annoyed, the child held his tongue to him, before quickly coming back to his old good childish smile when he saw his 'Neechan' was looking at him.

"- Come on, Conan-kun, better go fast in before everyone enters !

\- Haaai ..."

After having looked at the first painting, they were now almost at the entrance of the second room. All the visitors were now entering so they weren't alone any more. Conan was still watching more the Kid than the exhibition and, while the Thief had been looking at the canvas with attention, the boy would have bet all his gadgets it had more to do with checking the security system than to admire the "Sunflowers"'s beauty.

But the security seemed indeed pretty high, Jirokichi hadn't been joking about it. Even here, in the tube spiralling between the floors, the small detective had noticed that, among the fake sunflowers bordering the path, a lot of tiny surveillance cameras were attached to the flowers.

"- Pity they couldn't put real sunflowers..." 'Kudô' observed as he came closer to the vegetation to look at it, having probably also noticed what the child had. "And that smell... I hope that's because they're new..." He concluded with a frown, wondering how the pernickety Jirokichi had forgotten to look at that detail.

"- Maa, we didn't come to look at fake sunflowers..." Ran gently laughed when she saw him frown on such a petty detail.

"- You're right, there are many more beauties to look at" The teen answered with a straight face, his eyes into the girl's.

Seeing her blush and feeling the kick behind his knee from a pretty much annoyed Tantei-kun, Kaito knew it was a bit too much for 'Shinichi' to say. "I'm speaking of the paintings of course ! Let's head to the second one !" He announced, stepping in front of them to finish the last meters to the second room, leaving a slightly puzzled Ran behind him.

Though the Thief quickly froze as he entered, and it had nothing to do with the "Sunflowers" 's beauty. She was there. The old lady from that museum in Shinjuku. Umeno-san, was it ?

Coming silently closer, he couldn't miss the tears in the corners of her eyes. Her fight. Her and Jii-chan's father's fight was now over. The second "Sunflowers" was here, in Japan, displayed to anyone's sight, just as her beloved one had dreamed of, and she was facing it with emotion.

Kaito couldn't stop a sad smile to appear on his lips. The fight wasn't completely over. It wouldn't until he caught that damn team who wanted to steal it.

But today would be the day they'd settle it all, he knew it, since he was going to force them out. Yea, it was time to spice up the game a bit...

o.O.o

Conan was looking with a curious face at the teen in front of him as he looked with a tender expression at the old woman in front of the painting. He had recognized her from the museum but he was unable to find a link between her and the Thief in white.

And before he could worry about the now revengeful expression on the fake Kudô's face, a very familiar voice echoed in the room.

" - Raaan !" Sonoko was calling as she headed towards them, brushing the Kid in her rush to meet her best friend.

"- Sonoko !" Ran smiled to welcome her. "You've been able to find some time for us finally ?

\- I said I would ! Though, I may be a hinder, looks like you are in good hands..." She pointed out with a smutty smile when she saw the one she almost knocked down was Ran's love interest.

"- Hello Sonoko. Thanks for inviting us." Kaito politely answered when she turned to him.

And that's when the small detective froze.

He had been looking every damn second at the fake Kudô so how the hell could Sonoko have that Thief's logo stuck on her back ?!

"- Sonoko-neechan !" He spurted out, knowing he'd have to look at it as soon as possible. "You have a Kaitou Kid card on your jacket !

\- W... What ?! "The girl panicked, looking at her front for the note.

"- It's in your back ! " Ran noticed before grabbing it and looked at it with a frown. "What's that ...?

\- Let me see !" Conan pledged with a childish voice.

When the girl obeyed, he could finally understand why she had a puzzled grimace.

Because he didn't get it either.

"- Whatever it means, we need to warn the security !" The Suzuki's heir observed with sense. "The Kaitou Kid is already in the museum !"


	9. Chapter 8 - Riddle

**Hi there !**

 **Uhh I do think we get closer of the trailer's most exciting scene... ; )**

 **But before, time for a little riddle : ) (And NO, as you probably noticed, I'm not into Agasa's riddle and I kinda removed his joke-riddle. I know that, without it, it is not at 100% a DB movie but well... ^^; )**

 **See you on Sunday !**

 **o.O.o**

 **emmahoshi : Oh, you're a bit like Conan in the 3K case : ) I personally don't try to get too close of a mystery novel character, because, well, it's either a potential victim or a killer and the chances for that char not to belong to one of those two categories is so thin it becomes depressing xD Yes, I was so much expecting that in the movie, I wanted it to be here :D Those little cases with Kid disguising as Shinichi are jut genius and Conan's face is just... I still laugh when I remember ^^ Ah, if you read that scene carefully again, you'll see the Kid had that one little moment to put it on Sonoko's jacket... This is a true Kid's riddle, just like in the movie : )**

 **violet-snowflake : I was _trying_ to correct things, not to had more OoCness xD Weeeell... Just keep reading, you may find what you want xD**

 **Boogum : haha, yea, I had this image of a mosquito (a very agressive one xD) trying to annoy a huge human. When it's a bit annoying to hear it buzz around you and it may sting you but you'll barely notice... Yup, just as efficient as Conan is right against Kaito xD**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 : Riddle**

* * *

Moments later, the four teenagers were in the security room, with Gotou on one side, still at his mission to watch the screens, and with the seven samurais and Nakamori on the other side, all looking at the card with puzzled faces.

A card that said :

14 = (11人+1人) + 2人

15 = (11人+1人) +2人 +1人

A man entered, visibly a security guard, with a disappointed face.

"- I'm sorry, we couldn't identify who put that card on your niece's back, even with the video surveillance..." He apologised, bowing his head. "We could only determine it has been done in that very room since there wasn't anything beforehand...

\- That's a pity... Thanks."

The guard left with one last bow and closed the door behind him.

"- So the only hint left is that strange message..." Jirokichi concluded, his eyes back on the notice. "15... 15 what ? I bet it means more than 15 "persons" (人) ...

\- We'll, if we're speaking about the "Sunflowers", some of them do have 15 flowers on them..." Natsumi pointed out.

"- Yes, the 4th, 5th and 6th." Kumiko specified with a nod.

"- And any with 14 flowers ?" Kogoro wondered, also trying to find a link.

"- None..." Kouji said as he shook his head. "But there's still that theory that having 14 is the same than having 15, right ?" He added with a look at Natsumi.

"- Yes, we found some of Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo and in one, he mentioned one of his paintings, saying it had 14 sunflowers on it while there are 15 drawn on the canvas...

\- Wait, that artist couldn't even count how many flowers he drew ?!" Charlie noticed with a slight irony in the voice.

"- He had had an education, so that's probably something else..." Kumiko pointed out when she saw Natsumi shrugged at his uncalled-for comment.

"- Ok... If those '14' and '15' are the "Sunflowers", any idea of what are those 'persons' on the notice ?

\- Van Gogh is known for having a high interest in religion, he even hesitated for a while to follow his father's path and also become a pastor... " Kouji explained. "In those letters, when he said there were only 14 sunflowers, there's that interpretation he identified them as the Christ's 12 disciples, Theo and Gauguin.

\- 14 persons overall, that's it !" Natsumi agreed. "11 +1 for the disciples... And that's 15 if you add Van Gogh himself !

\- Uh, ok..." Kogoro said pensively as he crossed his arms.

"- And here we're again with those disciples... A religious one, indeed !" Charlie concluded with a sigh. "But even if we're on the right track... What does this means in the end ?

\- Yea, that's a bit strange... We got the riddle but it doesn't even look like a notice, more like a message..." Nakamori said with a frown.

Conan could only agree with the inspector. Such a difficult text to just mention an old theory about the "Sunflowers" ? There was something else, he was sure of it.

 _"Why does that guy like so much complicated things..."_ He sighed with a look at the fake Kudô, resting silently against the wall, as always with the shadow of a smile on his face.

And that meant he was back to his theory of a third party, perhaps one the Kid was fighting ? But there was no sign of it, the only one who approached the painting was the Thief in white himself.

The small detective ruffled his hair with frustration. There was something else to that note, he had to find what.

"- Maa, never mind !" Jirokichi suddenly spurted, getting the boy out of his thoughts. "We'll just have to ask him once we catch him ! Gotou, have everyone exit the site.

\- Hai !" His bodyguard answered, taking immediately his walkie-talkie out to have someone to warn the visitors through the speakers.

"- Oi, oi, it's been barely one hour since you opened the exhibition, you sure it's ok to close it so soon ? Some might not appreciate and could balk at leaving after such a short time... " Kogoro pointed out after a glimpse at his watch.

"- Yea, don't worry. While the other invitations will be indeed distributed through a lottery, today, only people invited personally were there, like staff's families or Suzuki Zaibastu's acquaintances. Better always be cautious on the first day..." Jirokichi answered with a grin, proud of himself. "I'm counting on you my dear samurais !"

The seven of them got an earplug out and put it in their ears, ready for whatever was coming.

"- What are you planning ? " Nakamori asked with surprise when he saw the old Suzuki had some additional security measures.

"- To each samurai his painting and his floor ! Don't forget to contact us if any of you has to leave his guard !" Sonoko's uncle reminded them.

After a last nod or bow, the seven of them left for their targets.

o.O.o

 _"- ... I repeat, we apologize for the inconvenience but, due to an unforeseen event, we are forced to close the museum for today. Please listen to the instruction of the security guards and leave the premise..."_

The ones remaining in the room, Nakamori, Jirokichi, Gotou, Conan, the two girls and the fake Kudô were now facing the screen, listening to the evacuation safety instructions

"- But... You're not even checking the ones going out !" The inspector spurted with startle when he saw the crowd going through the exits, avoiding the xrays portals. "The Kid will escape !

\- Maa, dear inspector, we both know that Thief won't leave the place without at least trying to put his hands on his prey..." The old man said with a confident smirk.

"- Yea, I guess...

\- With the x-rays at the entrance, Kid can't have any elaborate disguise and he probably doesn't even have a single gadget with him, he'll be easy to catch ! So we'll just seal the exits once everyone has evacuated. Well, everyone except my trusted people !

\- You also have your disciples, Suzuki-san ?" Kaito asked with a little smile, getting on him Conan's attention.

"- Yup, I was supposed to have twelve of them, just like in the Bible ! But since you came, it's more like 13..."

 _"Twelve ? Thirteen ?"_ The small detective wondered, before starting to think about it. _"The seven samurais... Nakamori, Gotou, Conan, 'Kudô', Ran and Sonoko. That was indeed twelve, if you didn't take into account the fake Shinichi that wasn't supposed to be here. Twelve disciples, that Thief said... Just like... Oh Kami...! That's what he meant !"_

"- Jirokichi-ojisan !" The boy spurted with urge as he stepped near the man to look up at him. "Could those twelve from the card be related to your twelve trusting people ?

\- Maybe but... What are you thinking about ?

\- Well, if he wrote '11人+1人' instead of '12人', couldn't it mean that there's something special about one among us ? Just like that painting, back in the hotel..."

Noticing the fake Shinichi had a small amused nod at his attention, he knew he had guessed right and barely hid a satisfied grin under a childish expression.

"- That would be... Judas ?" Ran proposed as she looked at him.

"- The Betrayer ?" Sonoko added with puzzlement. "Is Kid-sama trying to tell us we got a traitor in our group ?!

\- You mean someone else who would be targeting the "Sunflowers" ?!" Her uncle concluded as he paled a few shades.

"- That would explain the strange behaviour of the Kid during this whole case : we thought he was the one doing all this but perhaps he was just on the scene and someone else was acting in the shadows..." Nakamori agreed as he took his chin in his hand to think about that theory.

"- But we can't ignore the possibility he's just trying to have us doubt of each other..." Gotou pointed out with a frown.

"- Clearly... Nakamori-keibu, could you have another look at our samurais' profiles, we may have missed something. No need to mention that to them though..." Jirokichi précised, a grave expression on his face. "You perhaps should begin with anyone who could be related to the 2nd and / or to the fifth "Sunflowers", since those paintings seemed to be especially targeted...

\- Got it." The policeman agreed as he grabbed the closest phone.

In the meanwhile, a man in black appeared in the main screen.

"- This is the front door. All the visitors and the staff are now out." He stated.

"- Great. Gotou, could you... ?

\- I'm on it !"

The man pushed a few buttons on the panel in front of him and the different cameras showed some metallic shutters closing here and there.

"- Now that we've trapped it, let's catch our little mouse !" The old Suzuki said with a laugh.

o.O.o

"- Charlie here. I've checked the places with the weakest security and surveillance cameras' blind spots, I didn't find anyone suspicious.

\- Roger." Gotou answered before turning to his boss.

"- Don't worry, he'll show up sooner or later... And we'll be here to see him !" The old man answered with a snort, his eyes on the screens showing the different "Sunflowers".

The azure-eyed child looked up at his neighbour. The Thief didn't seem to be preparing to leave but was more like the others in the room, in the expectation of something to happen, his eyes on the computers. He was pretty focused on the 2nd, but it didn't stop him from having some quick glimpses at the other screens... Was he afraid that something could happen to the other paintings too ?

But his immobility was proving the theory of a third party was right... And with a kind of stupid Thief's pride, he hadn't wanted to share this info with the little detective, preferring to try to solve it all by himself, as if this was a personal insult.

Well, if the guy had tried to use the Kid's name to steal the "Sunflowers" by sending fake cards, Conan could guess why he was angry. Perhaps he tried to even steal his face ? For that last point, the boy wasn't absolutely sure. While the Thief in New-York was just probably their culprit hanging around in an ersatz of a Kaitou Kid's disguise, the one he faced at the airport was pretty convincing...

"- Kyaaa !" Sonoko suddenly yelled as the light went off, interrupting the child's reflexions.

"- A blackout ?!" Ran wondered as she looked around her, to see only the emergency lights.

"- It's ok, don't worry !" Jirokichi quickly said to reassure them. "Gotou, switch to the emergency power system.

\- Hai !

\- Start with the cameras directed at the Sunflowers !" The fake Kudô required with urge as he came closer to the bodyguard.

"- I'm on it."

Indeed, in barely a few moments, the guard could display once again the 7 paintings. The light was faint but there was no doubt possible : the "Sunflowers" were safe.

"- Great..." Jirokichi sighed with relief when he saw everything was clear.

"- Could you also get some power back into that computer in front of me ? Megure sent me some information, you want to have a look at it..."

The man nodded and quickly strummed on his keyboard, to finally turn back on the lights in the museum.

"- What's the system's status ?" The old Suzuki asked to his employee.

"- Something happened in the control room... The lights, the elevators and the surveillance cameras won't respond anymore... We had a different power supply for the cameras facing the paintings but else, we're blind...

\- Tsk, that damn Kid... As we thought, he stayed here and is now messing with my security system...

\- Nope, I'm not absolutely sure it's the Kid..." Nakamori said, interrupting Jirokichi's ranting, his eyes on the screen in front of him.

"- Who else then ?

\- That 'Judas' Kid-sama mentioned ?" Sonoko proposed with hope, glad to see at least a way to clean her beloved Thief's name.

"- Well, this is someone suspicious among the samurais, yes... His twin brother died six months ago from a bullet in the chest in Arles, the place where the "Sunflowers" have been drawn. Thanks to the gunpowder found on his hands, the police determined it was a suicide but... Well, this man's name was Azuma Kouichi.

\- Azuma ?!" The old Suzuki spurted as he understood who was probably the traitor.

"- Yes, Azuma Kouji's brother...

\- It wasn't a suicide, I killed him."

The whole group jumped with the surprise as they heard the specialist in painting repairs' voice. Nakamori had forgotten he also had an earplug and that everything he was saying was also broadcasted to everyone with an earplug, all the samurais included.

"- Look, Azuma-san is in front of the second "Sunflowers" !" Ran observed as she pointed the screen with her hand.

"- Put him on speaker, Gotou." Jirokichi ordered, before speaking again when his man nodded at him. "Why did you kill your own brother ?!

\- We have always been both looking for Ashiya's "Sunflowers", it's just that we didn't agree about what we'll do of it once we'd find it..."

 _"Ashiya's ?"_ Conan wondered with a frown _. "But wasn't that painting supposed to have burn during WWII according to the news ?"_

"- What nonsense are you spurting ? That painting has been burn within Ashiya's city during the war...

\- Nope, the "Sunflowers" barely made it out in time but it hasn't been burnt." Kouji corrected as he shook his head.

And he started to tell the tale, one Kaito recognized with a sad smile, the tale Jii-chan had been telling him a few days ago.

"-... We got that story from my father, who had it from a worker who witnessed the whole scene and was the one who retrieved the painting from our grandfather's hands. He told him the painting had been sent as a counterfeit to Europe, to some relatives of Umeno-san... So even after our father's death, we resumed looking for it.

\- But you mean..." The old Suzuki finally realized with wide eyes. "That the "Sunflowers" I bought _is_ Ashiya's ?!

\- Yes. We found it accidentally in the attic of an old house, in the fields around Arles... But since we were with our guide, Kouichi preferred we to keep it quiet and to come back to retrieve it later, to be sure he wouldn't report us to the French police. But on our way back there, I couldn't stand it anymore. Couldn't stand the fact we would become mere thieves, criminals who would stole a national treasure for an old wish... The "Sunflowers" belonged to the city it was painted in, we had no right to steal it from them..." Azuma said as he clenched his fists in anger.

o.O.o

 _"- What the heck are you saying ! This is the goal of our life ! Of our father's ! And of our grandfather, damn it, he even died for it ! How dare you betray them ! " was saying Kouichi, the one who was driving them back to the old cottage as he stopped their pickup._

 _"- We'd be nothing than mere thieves ! That painting belongs here ! Being in Japan brought nothing good to it, they almost burnt it !_

 _\- Japan didn't ask for those bombing, Kouji." He pointed out with a grave look. "If you're not with me, you're against me. Leave that car._

 _\- The hell !_

 _\- Leave that damn car I said !_

 _\- I won't !" Kouji refused once more, before grabbing the old shotgun that was near him, the one who belonged to the old hunter who lent them the pickup. " You're the one who will get out._

 _\- Like I'd let you break our family's dream... !"_

 _Kouichi threw himself at his brother and both fought for the control of the weapon. In the mess, a shot finally echoed in the fields, scaring away some crows._

 _"- Oniisan, I... " Kouji stuttered when he saw the other's chest was slowly starting to be tainted with a deep scarlet._

 _"- Nevermind..." He said, his voice now barely a whisper as life was slowly leaving his body. "Just... Run..."_

 _The artwork repairer looked at his brother, all enmity forgotten, just slowly starting to understand he killed his own relative. "But ... !_

 _\- Go ! " He retorted with all the strength he could put in his voice, using his last resources. "And close... the door."_

 _Kouji stepped out, unsure, his panicked eyes still on his brother, leaving the shotgun on his seat with a disgusted grimace as if it was a poisonous snake and closing the car's door behind him._

 _The other nodded with a small smile before grabbing the weapon and having a last look at his surroundings._

 _A sunflowers' field. How ironic this would be the last thing he'd see in his life._

 _Understanding what his brother was going to do, Kouji closed his eyes and ran. Ran as fast as he could, ignoring the second gunshot that echoed just a little while after he left, ran until he couldn't breathe anymore and fell in the dust, tears rolling on his face._

 _"- Kouichi..."_

o.O.o

"- I left the country, not willing to hear about the "Sunflowers" anymore, not after seeing how it ruined the lives of my kind... But then, an old acquaintance of mine contacted me. The "Sunflowers" in Arles had been found by an American and was going to be auctioned in New-York. Just like me, that person wanted the "Sunflowers" to come back to France, where it originally belonged. We were disappointed not to be able to acquire it back then in New-York but, well, since you had contacted me to participate to the " _Japan's Beloved Sunflowers Exhibition",_ we knew we'd have some other chances to achieve our goal...

\- We ?" Nakamori noticed with a frown. "Who's that other one ?

\- While I will turn myself peacefully in, I will not give his name. I dare hope he'll be able to realise that dream of mine, that dream that wasn't the one my family had..." Kouji added with a faint sad smile.

"- We'll see that once Megure will be here..." The inspector growled with a low voice.

"- Oi, this is bad, the sunflowers are on fire !" Kogoro's voice suddenly spurted.

"- What ?!" The group in the security room wondered altogether.

"- He's right ! The museum is on fire !" Natsumi added with panic.


	10. Chapter 9 - Blaze

**Heya !**

 **Oh dear, we're already there, we'll reach the climax of the trailer in that chapter !**

 **Meaning everything that happens after will be a mystery to you...}=)**

 **o.O.o**

 **Boogum : Thanks !**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 : Blaze**

* * *

"- Gotou ! Check the paintings' heat sensors !" Jirokichi spurted with urge.

But Conan could see from where he was there was already some flames on the 4th "Sunflowers" 's camera. Was Kouji trying to save some time for his accomplice ?

"- All the sensors indicate there's a fire !" The bodyguard deplored with a slightly panicking voice. "The fire is apparently already spreading in the whole complex !

\- But how is it possible ?" Nakamori wondered before getting to the only plausible explanation. "This has nothing of an accident...

\- That smell..." The fake Kudô whispered, his fists clenched along his body.

The small detective was going to the same conclusion : that disagreeable smell they breathed around the fake sunflowers in the hallways was very probably an inflammable substance, one that had been more than willing to burn at the first spark around.

"- Crap..." The boy swore with a low voice, also angry to have missed that fact.

"- What about the sprinklers ?! " The old Suzuki insisted, unable to believe what was happening in front of his eyes.

"- That part of the system is still down since the blackout, I wasn't able to retrieve it...

\- Ok, no more choice. Start the emergency safety procedure for the paintings." Jirokichi ordered, before touching his earplug. "To everyone, we're evacuating ! Gotou, open the doors of the top and turn the main elevator's power back on...

\- Hai !

\- Follow me !" Sonoko's uncle asked to the others with a sign of the hand.

The Thief and the detective reluctantly obeyed, willing to see with their own eyes the paintings being put in safety, something the bodyguard was working on, typing as fast as he could on his keyboard, a drop of sweat rolling along his face.

"- Let's go, Conan-kun !" Ran insisted with urge when she saw he wasn't retreating fast enough to her taste.

The boy looked at Gotou once more, to see the fire was already pretty close, since smoke was already entering the room.

"- Hurry up, Oji-san !

\- The fire is already here !" Kaito added to give more motivation to the man.

In a minute, the man was with them. "Let's go, kids !"

The 'kids' had the same reflex and looked once more at the screens showing the paintings. While most seemed to have been put in safety, there was one remaining, dangerously still. The second "Sunflowers".

"- Come on !" Gotou insisted, pushing them both just before the flames starting to appear on the ceiling.

The hallway they ended in was already a mess of fire, but there was luckily still enough room to go to the elevator, where Ran was already waiting for everyone.

"- This way !" She was yelling as she shook her hand to have the attention of the few samurais who managed to come here, Kogoro, Keiko, Ishimine and Kumiko.

"- Get on !" Her father ordered as he passed near her, soon followed by everyone else.

"- Faster, boys !" Gotou urged the two teenagers, seeing the fire was pretty much starting to lick their shoes and that the elevator was still a dozens of meters away.

"- Oi !" Conan grumbled, mostly by surprise, when the fake Shinichi grabbed him and kept him under his arm. "I'm not some damn luggage !

\- You'll thank me later for that, Tantei-kun..." Kaito answered, focused on his run, letting the child go only once he stepped into the elevator.

"- Close the doors !" The bodyguard ordered as he also entered.

Just before a huge flame came at them, the doors closed and the fire only licked the metal.

"- Safe... " Gotou panted as he bend forwards, using his knees as a support. "Everyone is here ? Anyone hurt ?" He finally asked once able to breathe a bit easier, looking up at the teenager near him.

"- I'm alright... " The fake Kudô answered, rubbing some sweat off his chin. "You ?

\- I'm ok...

\- Same for everyone then." Kogoro stated with a serious voice.

Being the first in the elevator, he had been able to check if everyone was really in it and if they were safe or not.

"- Conan-kun, you sure you're ok ?" Ran asked with a worried face when she heard him cough.

"- Yes, it's just some smoke... But... Will the "Sunflowers" really be alright in such a fire?

\- Don't worry, the cases we developed could almost resist to a volcano. " Jirokichi assured with confidence. "And the mechanism to bring the paintings upstairs is powered thanks to the lake's water so it can't break down... Gotou, you've been able to properly launch the procedure ?

\- Yes sir.

\- But the second "Sunflowers" seemed to be still here on the screen..." The small detective insisted with urge.

"- We'll check in the vault but I can guarantee you everything went as planned, boy." The bodyguard answered with a reassuring smile.

Conan hesitated to insist but he felt a hand on his shoulder that prevented him to do so. Kid's.

He looked up at him and understood he had seen the exact same thing than he did.

Both knew they had to act as soon as possible if they wanted to save Ashiya's Sunflowers...

o.O.o

When, through the earplug he had set on the same frequency than the samurais' thanks to Kouji's information, he heard that the order to evacuate had been given, the criminal in white smiled. He had been wearing his Kaitou Kid's disguise just in case but, well, there shouldn't be anyone left. Now that he had free reins to go after his prey, he was heading towards the second "Sunflowers". His goal was to retrieve it and, just like what happened in Ashiya, everyone would think the painting had been destroyed by the fire, after a dysfunction of its safety mechanism. Dysfunction that had nothing to do with fate, since he was the one who sabotaged it beforehand. Just like he had been the one to pour a chemical on the main control panel, resulting in a blackout that neutralized almost every system of that old man's fortress. And fire that had nothing to do with fate either, since he was the one who lightened it when he heard his accomplice had been spotted.

It had been a pity Kouji had been exposed, since he had been useful to him, being the one who got him a ticket and brought secretly his material beforehand. He also gave him enough intel to know how to interfere with the security system and put that chemical that allowed those fake flowers to burn that well. But Kouji's mission was over, so now...

The thief was installing some explosives that would create his back door : he was planning to open a breach from the tube to the cave and use the natural galleries that lead to the mountain to escape discreetly. Working fast, not wanting any early 'boom' due to the blaze surrounding him, the man ended quickly his task and was going to retrieve the painting when some voices, close enough to be heard over the raging fire, echoed in his vicinity.

 _"Crap..."_

o.O.o

Letting the group in the elevator going out first, Conan and Kaito stayed a bit back, looking at them heading to the parking reserved for the transportation of the paintings.

"- Hey, we even got an helicopter waiting for us..." The indigo-eyed teen pointed out when he looked up, hearing a motor's noise.

"- Megure's probably, coming for Kouji..." The small detective concluded when he recognized the MPD's logo on the vehicle's side. "Nevermind that, let's go back before the second "Sunflowers" turns into ashes !" He ordered after one last look at Ran's back when he saw she stopped a bit further.

"- Yup, raging fire, here we are again..." The Thief pointed out with irony, still feeling on his face the heat of the flames devouring the museum. But he promised, he had to go back. And even without that promise, that damn imposter was probably acting in the shadows, no way he'd let him win !

o.O.o

"- Come on !" The fake Kudô was now swearing, using his whole weight to push against a pole he had stuck between the wall and the painting.

Feeling his left arm was starting to hurt again, he tried to kick the pole, but didn't really succeed, it didn't budge at all.

"- Crap..." He ranted as he rubbed his wounded arm.

"- Kid, down !

\- W... what?!"

Kaito had barely the time to dive to the floor, avoiding at the last second a sparkling piece of debris that crashed against the pole and the wall he was working on just earlier.

"- Oi ! Don't make one of your evil shoots like that ! You're dealing with fragile things here ! The "Sunflowers" for example. And my head ! "The teen yelled at Conan as he got up with a grimace, holding his left arm against him.

"- You dodged it, didn't you ? Just see it as the trust I put in your Thief's reflexes..." The small detective answered with a casual voice, as if nothing happened. "Did it work ?

"- Damn brat... Nope, all that for nothing, you barely scratched the wall a bit more but the painting didn't move at all..." The Kid pointed out with a flat glare after checking the pole. "Whatever is blocking that thing is just solid as a rock...

\- Crap..."

"- Conan-kun ?!"

Both teens turned to look behind them with panic, to see a panting Ran looking at them accusingly. "This is dangerous, why did you two come back here ?! " She scolded them as she came closer, zigzagging between the debris.

Once again with the same move, the two boys looked at each other, the exact same idea in mind.

"- Ran ! " Kaito started.

"- We need your strength !" Conan added.

"- Uh... What ?" The girl asked, a bit puzzled at the duo in front of her.

"- The "Sunflowers is stuck...

\- We think we could release it if we break the wall... " The small detective explained. "It's already a bit cracked, it shouldn't be that hard.

\- I know you can do it !" The fake Kudô encouraged her before she could even protest.

"- ... Ok, I'll give it a try." She sighed, unable to fight against those two. "But step away, this could be dangerous..."

This hadn't to be said twice, the thief and the detective quickly backed off while she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"- Rahhh !" She yelled as she punched with all her might the already weak part of the wall, adding a spin kick on the pole a second after for good measure.

"- It worked !" Conan said with a wide smile when he saw the painting was being taken away, safely inserted into its fire- and water-proof case to be sent on the rails that would lead it to the vault.

"- I did it !" The long-haired girl said with startle before rejoicing and hugging the Thief in her joy.

o.O.o

From where he was, the other thief wasn't that glad to see their joy. He didn't believe they'd been able to release the canvas and yet, thanks to that girl's strength...

Luckily, he had sabotaged the rails so the painting couldn't go that far but he had to get rid of those 'obstacles'. It would be a pain to retrieve the "Sunflowers" from the shaft it was stuck in but that would still be easier than dealing with those three. Rumbling in his pockets, he found a remote and pushed one of its buttons.

It was a bit earlier that what he wanted but it was time to create his back door ! And to hope those brats would be crushed by the blast.

o.O.o

The sour comment the azure-eyed boy wanted to throw at the Thief when he saw he was hugging Ran never left his throat as the tube shook greatly when an explosion echoed.

"- Hold on tight, don't let go !" The fake Kudô ordered when he saw the floor was crumbling under them and that a large hole was opening to the dark cave. Conan also grabbed Ran's leg, just before another blast threw the three of them out, against the rocky wall the museum was built on.

o.O.o

The next thing the small detective knew was that, after a desperate mess, he was now holding with one arm to a broken water pipe, Ran under him, held only by his extensible suspenders, unconscious.

He remembered he had landed quite roughly on a ledge made to hold the museum's tube, hurting his head, and , when he had desperately looked for the long-haired girl, he had seen she was also hurt, sliding slowly towards the void.

"- Ran !" The child had yelled, before throwing caution to the wind and jumping at her, his suspenders in the hands.

They had fallen together and, after some quick moves and a prayer to whatever Kami around, their fall had stopped, leading them to that broken pipe. And the void under their feet.

The small detective looked around him to try to find a solution.

Ran looked like she'd be out a little while and a scratch deeper than the others on her left shoulder was tainting her shirt in red. She wasn't the one who was going to provide them help, she was the one needing some. As to the Kid... He was nowhere to be seen. Well, he had been nowhere to be seen, since there was now a white shape hanging a bit further in the cave, holding to a rope stuck in the rock thanks to a grapnel.

Conan was a bit too far to distinguish him, within the darkness of the cave, but well, there was only one idiot Thief in the world with such a flashy outfit and he happened to be the only one with them in that cave.

"- Oi, come and help me !" The azure-eyed boy asked, trying to give some strength to his voice despite the fact he knew he was slipping and he wouldn't hold long.

"- Why ?

\- W... Why ?! Because else we'll die, that's why, you baka !" The bespectacled detective retorted, absolutely not in a mood to stand the other's stupid jokes.

"- I think you're confusing Thief and Good Samaritan, boy... The second "Sunflowers" is waiting for me, I have no more time to lose with you, you've already been enough of a hinder..."

Conan felt he was losing his temper, how could that Thief be so cold when he was going to leave them both to a certain death ?! And that taunting voice, that smirk that seemed to be on his face... How could that be an imposter ? The boy couldn't believe it but he had to face the truth : the Kid had been playing him, right until that moment where he wouldn't disturb him anymore and where he'd be able to steal what had been his one and only goal from the beginning, the second "Sunflowers". "I can't believe it..."

The criminal in white looked at the kid in front of him with a smile, seeing he was giving up already. Well this little game had lasted long enough, it was time to free the "Sunflowers" from the rails it was stuck in. "Ladies and gentlemen..." He started with a smile, grabbing the rim of his hat to salute an imaginary public, totally in the Kaitou Kid's role, this was so fun after all.

"- What's happening to you ?!" The small detective tried desperately when he fell he slipped a bit more and that it was soon going to be over.

"- ... It's showtime !" The other finished, ignoring the boy's comment.

And another explosion echoed in the cave, breaking the pipe Conan and Ran where holding to.

o.O.o

"- Hold on !"

Conan opened his eyes to see his fall stopped almost as soon as it began and that someone was holding the suspenders he and Ran were attached to, last thread between them and a probably quick death among the water and the rocks at the bottom of the cave.

Looking up, the boy recognized a very familiar face : his.

"- But... ?" He tried before looking around him, in the hope to see the other white shape.

"- Questions later... Can you climb up ?" The Thief asked, his teeth clenched, the effort being so intense.

The small detective nodded and quickly climbed the suspenders, and ended at the indigo-eyed teen's side within a minute.

"- Great..."

Hearing once more some pain in the Kid's voice, Conan's eyes widened as he looked at him. The right side of his face was covered with blood, forcing him to close his eye. And his left arm was shaking, with red lines on his hand : the child knew he had been hurt there, it probably reopened with such tension.

"- Hold on a sec' !" He encouraged him, spotting a stalagmite on the teen's side.

The kid grabbed one side of the suspenders and pulled it to circle the stone and secure the improvised rope.

"- I'm going to lift her, just try to make sure she doesn't move too much...

\- 'k..."

Slowly, the bespectacled detective pushed the button of his suspenders, bringing Ran closer and closer, until the moment when, with one last grunt, the Thief managed to help her on the ledge they were on.

Panting, he let himself lay on his back while the boy was rushing at his 'Neechan's ' side to check on her.

"- How is she ?" The fake Kudô asked with a tired voice.

"- She's still unconscious and I don't like the wound on her shoulder but it could have been worse...

\- Sorry... I did my best to hold her but the blast threw us against the rock and all I could do was to leave her on that ledge... Next thing I know is me waking up here while you were having a chat with our friend fond of explosives..."

Conan came closer to the Thief, bending to check the gash on his forehead.

"- Just. Don't." The teen hissed, grabbing the hand that just touched the side of his head as he sat down.

"- Sorry...

\- I hope you are, I'm hurt you thought I could be such a heartless monster..." The Thief said with a faint smirk.

"- So this guy was really an imposter ?

\- He's quite convincing, eh ?

\- So you knew there was one..." Conan noted with a flat stare at the other. "You and your damn riddles, we wouldn't be in such a mess if you trusted me from the beginning, baka !

\- Just see it as the trust I put in your detective's reasoning..." Kaito retorted, mirroring that moment he almost ended with a piece of debris through the face. "Ok, let's save the chit-chat for later, we need to get your girl out of here and neutralize that copycat...

\- Any idea ?" The azure-eyed child asked as he looked up.

The complex was still holding but probably not for long. The first explosion had opened the tube of the second floor, he could see it from where they were, a ledge a bit below the first floor. The second blast had cracked a part of the cave, the wall the museum was holding to, where they carved some room for the main elevator and the paintings' emergency rails.

"- He's trying to get the "Sunflowers" through the duct that should have taken it out...

\- I bet he sabotaged it first..." The Thief guessed with a hard look above their heads. "Ok, time for plan B.

\- Plan B ?

\- I'm going to drown the museum !" The Kid announced with a proud smile as he took out his earplug.

"- W... whaat ?!"


	11. Chapter 10 - Cave

**Heya !**

 **Heh, this fic is going so fast, after this one, only two chapters left !**

 **Oh well, enjoy it as it is ! :D**

 **o.O.o**

 **Boogum : More incoming !^^ I like to pair the Kid with Conan or Heiji, his teasing is so fun : )**

 **violet-snowflake : Haha, sorry (?) for writing something too exciting xD Maa, we're at last at the big fight, it was due to long a bit longer than one or 2 chapters ; )**

 **TheDarkKunoichi : Any time :D I absolutely share the feeling, this fic exists for that purpose only after all^^**

 **SecretHimitsu : Trust Kid and his mad ideas : p**

 **emmahoshi : No problem : ) Heh, lucky his pride is a bit less showing now that he ended as Conan but Shinichi has also a side like that :p Haha, sorry and well, I'm glad it amuses you to see my french showing xD I'm doing my best but my 'a's in front of 'hospital' or 'helicopter' tend to turn into 'an's... French and its silent letters everywhere, so famous it indeed turned to be the key in a DC file ; ) Well, that's exactly what I waiting for with the trailer and it ended to be disappointing... I had to put it here, kudos to our imposter ! ^^ ^Maa, filling the museum with water will have it use and that's not only about extinguishing the fire, trust our favourite Thief for that ; )**

* * *

 **Chapter 10 : Cave**

* * *

Back at the top of the museum, the team was still helping with the evacuation : Megure was on his helicopter, giving some instructions with a megaphone and the others were helping on the ground, guiding the visitors so they'd leave what was the museum's 'ceiling', in case the fire would damage the site's structure, which could lead to its collapse.

But one of them was now discreetly stepping away as he brought his hand to his ear. After his eyes widened with surprise, he nodded for himself and took a remote out, his look now on the water tank that was used to generate electricity.

Determination appeared on the fake Gotou's face and he finally pushed the switch.

o.O.o

The sound of huge quantities of water flowing, just after a 'boom', caught the museum's team's attention and, now that their mission was over, they gathered together around the water tank.

"- Oi, oi... " Kogoro sweat-dropped with a grimace when he identified the sound.

"- Yea, I think the water from the tank just has been released..." Jirokichi confirmed with a frown.

"- Well, good news is that, with all that water, the fire has probably been put out..." Nakamori guessed, a bit more optimistic than the others.

"- Has any of you seen Ran ?!" Sonoko asked as she came closer to them, a slight panic on her face. "I couldn't find her and her phone is not connecting...

\- The brat isn't here either..." The old detective pointed out when he looked around him. "Where the hell did they go...? They were behind us barely minutes ago...

\- Maa, they're probably just a bit ahead us on the way down." Jirokichi proposed to calm his niece down.

"- I'm going to check then..." She volunteered, not absolutely convinced by this answer. "Call me if you see them !" The girl insisted as she rushed to the stairs leading to the bottom of the cliff, on the visitors' parking.

o.O.o

Together, Kaito and Conan had climbed back with Ran near the second floor, to be sure not to end under water or, worse, under the tube if it crumbled down, and were now waiting for the water to flow under their eyes.

"- Still, were you actually planning to fill the museum with water ...?" The small detective was wondering, dubious.

"- Maa, it was the fastest way for me to retrieve my stuff. And if our guys wanted to evacuate the museum, using fire or water were the quickest solutions. Those guys are mad but they'd probably go with fire... In that case, better be the one with the water !" The Thief grinned proudly.

"- And how do you plan to stop your stuff from ending at the bottom at the museum by the way ?

\- Don't worry, it got grapnels, I'll activate them at the right moment. Ah, here it comes..."

And indeed, the growling sound of water flowing at high speed was now echoing, from both the tube and in the cave.

"- Hope the museum will hold on..." The boy fervently wished when he saw the tube was shaking.

"- Aaaand... there !" The teen said as he pushed a button at was probably the right moment, Conan didn't know for sure since he wasn't seen anything and the water had been flowing near them barely for a few seconds.

"- Whaaaa...!"

Both teens looked at each other before the same evil grin appeared on their faces.

"- Looks like someone got an unwanted bath..." The Kid concluded with a light tone.

"- Got a pair of cuffs with you ? I know exactly where we'll find our killer thief...

\- Not yet, but pretty soon !"

When the flow finally ran dry to a reasonable level and seeing the floor was still holding on where it hadn't been destroyed by the explosion, the detective and the Thief entered as they could with Ran back into the museum.

"- She's still out ?" Kaito asked with concern when he came back to Conan with a metallic case, seeing he was pushing a strand of hair away from her face, looking worried.

"- I think she's starting to wake up, she moves a bit. Got what you need ?

\- Yup !" The indigo-eyed teen answered as he gave a slap to the case in his hand with a smile.

But his cheerful expression disappeared when he felt the ground trembling under his feet.

"- Don't let that go !" He ordered to the child as he threw the case in his arms before crouching to take Ran in his arms with a wince. "We need to jump...

\- Oi, oi ..." The boy flatly observed as he looked through the glass tube at the water below their feet, a dozen of meters away.

"- Or would you prefer us to wait for the museum to collapse upon our heads ?" The Thief proposed with irony, his words making even more sense as a crack appeared under their feet.

"- Crap..."

Getting near of the edge, the teens looked at each other.

"- Try to jump a bit on the left, the lake seems deeper there and with fewer rocks..." Kaito advised after a quick look at the water. "Ok, at three... 1. 2. 3 !"

Conan had jumped at the other's yell and, after a wet mess, finally managed to get his head out of the water. He even had been able to keep the case with him.

The boy looked around him, desperate to spot the fake 'Kudô' and Ran, to see they were a bit behind him, the teen supporting the now half-conscious girl's head above the water.

"- Swim as far as you can !" The Kid ordered, not reassured at all by the noises of the structure behind him.

Conan looked with widened eyes at the tube, to see a whole part, at least the equivalent of one or two floors of tube's length, was barely holding by a few iron cables.

He didn't need to see more to know it was urgent for them to go as far as possible from this mess and, boosted by the adrenaline, he swam as fast as he could.

A loud splash informed him the part finally gave up and, when the bespectacled detective had a look behind him when he noticed another noise, it was only to be swallowed by a huge wave and then, by the dark oblivion of the unconsciousness.

o.O.o

"- Oi, look, it looks like it's stopping !" Kogoro announced when he noticed that the water that was flowing from the cliff to the lake was starting to run dry.

"- It probably ran out..." Charlie concluded as he also had a look over the guardrail to look at the lake below.

"- Let's check the "Sunflowers" then, I want to be sure every single of those paintings is safely in the vault." Jirokichi proposed, a shadow of concern of his face.

Barely finishing his sentence, the old man started to head there in a quick pace, his samurais - minus once since Kouji had been taken into custody by Megure - and Nakamori.

o.O.o

"-...-kun ! Conan-kun !"

A hand on his shoulder and a worried voice were what woke up the small detective.

After coughing some water, the boy could at last open his eyes and smile at the one bent on him.

"- Ran...

\- You ok, Conan-kun ?" She asked with a small smile as she helped him to sit and gently rubbed his back while he had another wet cough.

"- I think... And you, are you feeling better ?

\- You bet ! She's even the one who dragged me out of the water !" Shinichi's voice answered before she could.

Turning his head, the boy saw that the Thief was barely a few meters away from him, rubbing his head with a grimace. The three of them were on a kind of rocky beach, at the other side of the cave compared to the museum. The azure-eyed child was surprised by the fact the cave wasn't that dark. There were some emergency lights remaining in the top floors of the museum and a soft green light was also coming from the lake. Some phosphorescent algae probably.

"- I'm feeling better, yes." The girl admitted, before her eyes laid on what she could see of what was remaining of the museum. "But what happened ? There's almost nothing left of the museum.

\- There has been an explosion, we've been thrown into the lake because of it." Kaito informed her while he cautiously started to get up.

"- You shouldn't move, that wound on your head is..." The long-haired girl scolded him as she also got on her feet to come closer to him.

"- I'm good ! And we can't just stay here, not when that criminal is probably trying to flee with his loot..." The teen pointed out with a dark face.

"- That criminal ? The Kaitou Kid ?

\- Apparently, it was an imposter..." Conan explained to Ran as he also got up.

"- Sonoko will be glad to hear that." The girl observed with a smile.

"- Let's try to see if we can find any leads as to where he left. Ran, could you see if you find my case ? It should have been washed away around here, since Conan-kun had it.

\- Uh, ok..." Ran agreed hesitantly, wondering if this wasn't just a way to get rid of her.

"- Let's check near the walls, Conan-kun.

\- Hai, Shinichi-nichan !" The bespectacled child answered obediently, switching the light of his wristwatch on.

o.O.o

"- You didn't move when I was out ?" The boy asked with a low voice to his partner of the moment.

"- Nope, I wasn't at my best when your girlfriend dragged me to that beach and you woke up right after that...

\- Then our culprit went in that direction. And he's bleeding.

\- Great, I wish him the worse." Kaito rejoiced with a smile that had nothing reassuring in it.

"- Oi, oi, aren't you supposed to be the non-violent Thief ?

\- That dude dirtied my name, put a damn bullet in my arm and tried to blow me up twice with explosives, even I would think about violence at that point..."

Conan looked at him, remembering that blood stain on his sleeve back at that museum in Shinjuku. Wound that had reopened, he had seen it on that cliff earlier.

"- Keep your energy for when we'll find him then, you don't want to allow him to escape...

\- You think there's an issue over there ?" The teen wondered, quitting his dark expression to look with surprise at the dark way in front of him.

"- Well, the man apparently wanted to blow up the whole museum or almost from the beginning so I don't think he planned to escape by the main entrance... He perhaps even wanted us to think he disappeared and the painting got burnt in the blaze..." The small detective added, in his thoughts.

"- So that would be his secret exit ? Didn't that old man check all the ways in and out of that cave ?

\- Well, there was that tunnel underwater that linked the lake to this cave but I know he put iron bars to prevent anyone to infiltrate from there. As to this part of the cave... From our position, I'd say we're not that far away of the surface, so if they dug an entrance beforehand.

\- Someone would have noticed a hole in the mountain..." Kaito pointed out with a flat look at the boy. "Ah, unless... !

\- Unless they dug it from the inside thanks to Kouji's intel and that just the last layer is remaining, a layer so thin a small explosion could destroy it...

\- Why are we chatting here then, we need to follow him !"

"- I'm coming with you !"

Both boys jumped at the words of the girl and they turned at her with surprise, to see she was standing just behind them, Kid's case in the hands.

"- You should stay here, it's..." The child started, knowing he didn't want to have Ran with him when he was chasing such a dangerous criminal, and above all when she was hurt, but unable to find some arguments, as he was in his 7 year old body.

"- It's ...?

\- He's right, Ran, you're wounded and that man I'm looking for is dangerous...

\- I could say the same to you !" The female Tokyoite retorted, not wanting to let them go alone when, with her strength, she was sure she could help, even with a wounded shoulder."And Conan-kun's just a child !"

Kaito looked at the azure-eyed kid at his feet, to see he seemed pretty desperate for her to stay here. Knowing he'd regret it later, he stepped towards the girl and suddenly hugged her. "Please, for me. I won't be able to focus if you come with us, I'd be too worried about your safety..."

Ran blushed, remembering when he hugged her earlier already, hardly finding her words. "I..."

The fake Shinichi smiled before grabbing the case she had in the hands. "We'll be right back, I promise !" He assured her before stepping towards the entrance, leaving her behind, forcing her to accept his decision.

o.O.o

"- She's not following us ?" The indigo-eyed teen asked when he saw Conan turning his head to check once again the girl wasn't tailing them.

"- Shh..." The child ordered, time to try to listen to any noise. "I can't hear anything, it looks like she listened to you." He concluded after a minute. "By the way...

\- Oi ! That hurt !" The Kid ranted as he rubbed with a grimace his right shin.

"- You shouldn't complain, I promised you I'd break any part of yours that would approach her and you, you hugged her ! Twice !" The small detective ranted, a dark expression on his face.

"- Hey, first time was to save her ! Second was too ! In a way...

\- In a way... ?" The boy repeated with an even colder tone. "That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't taken my face once again...

\- I had no choice..." The Thief pointed out as he crouched to open his case and seized that opportunity to retrieve his material. " I didn't want to, at the beginning. But after that shootout in New-York...

\- Why were you there by the way ?

\- Someone contacted me. He wanted me to steal the "Sunflowers" but well, I'm not into artworks and... A friend of mine knew Azuma's story and wanted me to help that old Suzuki in his project. So I refused his offer and decided instead to help in the painting's protection from afar. When it turned out the one who took the job after me had fun using my image and shooting bullets in a crowd, I had to do something and taking your face was the easiest...

\- Could you find out who contacted you ?

\- Yea, that also rushed my decision, when I saw he was in the team of Samurais..." The Kid explained as he ruffled his hair to get them back into the messy haircut of "Kuroba Kaito". "It was Kouji. Though I'm almost sure now he's not the mastermind. The thief had a chat with someone else after stealing the fifth "Sunflowers" and that someone seemed to be the one running the show... Ah, a sec'..." Kaito said, bringing his hand to his ear with a focused face.

"- Kaito-bocchama ?

\- Yea ?

\- We're in the vault and the second "Sunflowers" is missing, do you have any idea of where it is ?" His old accomplice whisperd with concern in the voice, he was, after all, pretty attached to the mater of that precise painting's safety.

"- That imposter got it but we're after him, just give us some time to retrieve it...

\- Noted. Should I inform someone here ?

\- Nah, I don't want anyone to get under our feet... I'll be keeping you informed.

\- Noted. Be cautious."

"- That Gotou up there is your accomplice, right ?" Conan asked when the Kid finished his conversation and started to walk further into the cave, having overheard a few words.

"- ...Yup." The other admitted, having decided the time of the riddles about this case was over. "What gave him ?

\- I was seriously suspecting you'd have an accomplice among the samurais... And when I saw Gotou, panting and out of breath in the elevator earlier... That wasn't much of a long run and bodyguards need to be in a perfect shape... I guess he's a bit old ?"

The Thief smirked at the boy but didn't answer, having given enough information and not wanting to share any more of his secrets with the one in front of him.

"- I'll take that as a yes..." The bespectacled child concluded with a satisfied smile.

A huge 'boom' suddenly ended their chat as some dust fell on their shoulder.

Understanding it meant the man was forcing his way out of the mountain, both looked at each other before running like mad in that very direction.


	12. Chapter 11 - Lake

**Hey !**

 **Oy, we're starting to see the end, just one more chapter !**

 **Hope you'll have fun with that one, with Kaito and Shinichi taunting each other, Ran being useful (as she should be !) and... maaa, the last cliff for this story ; )**

 **o.O.o**

 **violet-snowflake : Yup : ) Did I mention I like to write action ? ^^ Thanks and... you'll see ! ; )**

 **Boogum : Thanks ! And don't worry, I'm moved you wanted to review so fast you did it while at work xD**

 **emmahoshi : haha, thanks ^^ Hmm as always in this story, some facts come directly from the movie. It was Jii who indeed blew up the water tank on Kaito's orders (for slightly different reasons) and his stuff was in a case that had grapnel. But they never set a foot in the cave and Ran never participated, she was with Sonoko and the DB, that's all. I prefer it like that ! ~ Yup, I remembered this fic (thanks for liking that one too ^^) when I wrote it. it reminded me I really appreciated the dynamic of the pairing Kaito + Conan and or Heiji, they are so fun to describe ; ) I should do another one like that !^^ Haha, well, I'll be flattered but, in that case, don't forget it was my fic you remembered, else you may be disappointed if you're looking for that scenario when you watch the original again xD**

 **estelle : Thanks :D Maa, since next film is focused on Kazuha and Heiji, I'd be so glad to ! Though Heiji may hate me and my violent tastes xD Oh well, while it would be funny to see my stuff drawn by the DC team and moving on screen, I wouldn't have the surprise of what happens any more so... Nah, I prefer to discover it : )**

* * *

 **Chapter 11 : Lake**

* * *

"- Stop !" Conan yelled when he saw the fake thief was removing the last debris to head towards the exit he just opened, the second "Sunflowers" 's case a bit further behind him.

"- Oh, our Thief in white !" The man mockingly noticed. "Is that your partner ? Or perhaps the true Kid ?" He smirked, his voice filled with insults.

"- I am the one and only Kaitou Kid, Mr Imposter. And I always pay my debts." The teen grinned as he stepped forwards his enemy, gently pushing the small detective behind him.

"- Want me to kick your ass once more, _boy_ ?

\- I was more thinking about evening the score..."

Both men were looking into each other's eyes and, after what seemed hours, they threw themselves towards the other at the same moment, as if some silent signal had been emitted.

The azure-eyed detective did his best to follow the fight, his soporific needle ready, but both men were moving so fast, the older one trying to hit the younger one who was escaping each of his blows, it was hard for the eye to follow what each was doing. The man was apparently hurt, there was a gash on his side, probably from when he got caught in the flood, but the Kid was too, with what was probably a commotion and the wound from the gunshot in his arm, so even for that part, both were at the same level, both ignoring wounds which didn't seem to even disturb them.

But Conan knew they may be in a pinch when he saw a grenade thrown by the man towards him. Aware of what happened, Kaito jumped near him to use a metal stick to replace the safety pin.

"- Nice... Just try to stop these !" The impostor bragged with a mad smile when he threw at least four others at him.

"- I hope you got something else in stock..." The Kid retorted, opening his cape and letting the grenades fall at his feet, all now with homemade new safety pins.

"- Of course ..."

The man tried to get his gun out but Kaito drew his card gun out and the weapon ended at his opponent's feet after a card scratched his hand.

"- Next ?" The Thief mocked with assurance as he stepped towards him.

"- You cocky brat..." The other spat, the sweat now rolling along his face revealing he was starting to be tired when the Kid was barely ending his warm-up.

Angry, the fake Kaitou jumped at the original, knowing he had a disadvantage at long-range when the other had his card-gun.

"- Game over." Kaito succinctly concluded when his opponent tried to tackle him.

The second after, the man's head was in a small puff of smoke, while the teen stopped breathing for an instant, time for the little soporific spray he had on him to act.

And indeed, it wasn't long before the imposter's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell on the ground.

"- Tsk. I told you the original was the best !" The indigo-eyed teen concluded as he childishly stuck his tongue out at the unconscious man near his feet before turning to the "Sunflowers".

"- Yea, yea, well done, what a nice fight..." Conan congratulated him without too much conviction in the voice as he came closer to them to kick the gun that was too close to their opponent's left hand to his taste.

Without really understanding what was happening, the next thing the bespectacled child knew was that he hit the wall with force after being harshly thrown against it by a man who was supposed to be in Morpheus's arms.

"- Tantei-kun !" Kaito called when he heard the boy's pained cry and turned to see what was happening.

"- I still have my doubts about the superiority of the original, Kid..." The imposter smirked as he got up. "Being famous is great but it also means more and more people have heard about your little tricks and some could easily understand the way you act and think, just like me..." He finished, grabbing his gun and pointing it at the teen, his eyes as cold as ice, despite the amusement on his lips.

"- That thing is wet, no use threatening us with it." The Thief tried, wanting to destabilize the other at least a bit.

"- You bet ?"

The grunt Conan had a second later before cradling his hurt wrist confirmed, to the two boys' disappointment, that the gun was working perfectly well.

And the small detective had lost the opportunity to hit the man with his soporific needle : the man had noticed and now his watch was broken and his hand bloody.

"- Looks like it's my win, boys. The small one, get closer to your Niichan." The imposter ordered, still pointing his weapon at the azure-eyed child as he stepped towards the painting. "The slightest move and I shoot him, Kid." He warned.

Conan got up with difficulty, still shaky after his back hit so hard the wall, and started to walk towards the teen as ordered with an arctic ice-cold glare at the one who was menacing him. Though the shadow of a smile came back on his face when his foot hit something.

"- Oi, get up brat !" The criminal snapped when, after he grabbed the painting, he saw the bespectacled boy had fell and was starting to whine, holding his hurt arm against him. "Now !

\- Hey, he's just a child and you shoot him, no wonder his legs can't support him anymore... Let me help him."

Kaito came closer to the detective, absolutely sure he'd see something interesting since the hell would be frozen before his little critic whined after such 'tiny' scratches and in front of witnesses.

And indeed, the boy winked at him, showing him the grenade he now had in the hand, before removing the metallic piece that he had put as a safety pin.

 _"Oi, oi..."_ The Kid thought with a sweat drop when he imagined the damages it could do if it exploded in such a small tunnel. But if he threw it towards the exit... It could be their solution.

"- There, there..." He said with a soothing voice as he helped the small boy on his feet and discreetly took the item.

 _"...8 ...9"_ The Thief was now counting in his mind.

"- DOWN !" Kaito yelled as he threw the grenade toward the man, praying for the case to hold on against the impact, before diving to the ground, protecting Conan with his body.

 _"Lady Luck, I hope you're with us today..."_ The Kid silently prayed as the whole tunnel shook and collapsed on their heads.

o.O.o

Ran was waiting. And she didn't like it. And the fact she felt two explosions not far away wasn't really helping her with being patient.

So the girl was really thinking about going into that dark tunnel despite the fact she had no light when no one came, even a dozen of minutes after that second tremor.

She was barely taking the first step towards the dark entrance when she heard some footsteps, and that brought a relieved expression on her face.

 _"Shinichi !"_ She rejoiced internally, ready to welcome him and Conan-kun so they could leave that creepy place.

Ran hesitated to run to meet them but, at the last minute, she remembered that there weren't only the boys in that direction, there also was a criminal. As much as she didn't want to think about that possibility, the footsteps could belong to someone hostile and she had to be prepared.

"- Step away, Missy." The fake Kid ordered the girl when he saw she was there, in a defence position that had nothing to do with amateurism, and pretty much blocking his exit.

The female Tokyoite looked at the man, keeping her face straight despite her deception and now her fear, not for her life but the one of those two boys so dear to her. Her opponent had been in a white suit but now his clothes were quite dusty and grey. He was holding the "Sunflowers" case under the arm but, despite all those hints, she knew he wasn't the Kaitou Kid. His face looked so old compared to the one she had been able to see once or twice, too close to her taste, but that was turning helpful today.

"- I don't know who you are, but I won't move." She declared, trying to give some strength in her voice, aware of the fact the fake Thief was said to be violent and therefore pretty dangerous.

"- I wouldn't want to hurt you." The man retorted with a tired smile when, just as the girl feared, he got a gun out.

Ran gulped at this sight, she knew she could be able to avoid a bullet, but right now, with a wounded shoulder, she didn't feel the strength to. She nevertheless tensed, knowing that, ready or not, she wouldn't have any choice.

"- But I do !" A familiar voice declared from the man's back before something forced the weapon in his hand to fall to the ground.

The long-haired girl, seeing her chance, growled menacingly before sending her feet into the man's face, throwing him unceremoniously to the ground.

"- Well done !"

Ran looked at her childhood friend who was stepping towards her and her eyes fell at the card near his feet. And then she remembered. His strange compliment from before, the interaction with him that seemed a bit off...

"- You're not Shinichi, aren't you ? Kid..." She concluded as she stared at him.

Kaito, who had put his 'disguise' back on Conan's advice, was now ruffling embarrassingly his hair.

"- You got me..." He finally admitted with a smile of apology when he saw the boy was shrugging.

"- I can't believe you..." She growled, remembering the hug... the hugS the Kid had shared with her when she thought he was Shinichi. And he was a damn thief !

"- Oi, eh, I'm hurt, just don't..." Kaito tried, jumping as he could to avoid every of her blows, trying to ignore the throbbing of his wounded head when he moved that fast. "Oi, I helped ! Tantei-kun, just tell her !"

But the said Tantei-kun was too busy laughing, clearly amused to see the teen getting a taste of his own medicine. After enjoying it a last moment, knowing indeed the Thief wasn't in a pretty good shape, he finally stepped out of the tunnel to intervene.

"- He's right, Ran-neechan, for once he was on our side, he's never been violent... It's that man you just knocked out who was disguising as the Kid and did all of this..."

The girl didn't seem to be absolutely convinced and there was that one thing still ticking her off.

"- Why. ALWAYS. Shinichi's. face ?!" She snapped at the disguised teen.

"- Maa, your boyfriend is so handsome, I can't stop myself !" Kaito maliciously answered, knowing he'd kill two birds with a stone and embarrass the two of them.

And indeed, while Ran was stuttering something about Shinichi not being her boyfriend, Conan was envisaging the possibility the Kid not being such a bad person and having quite a nice taste.

Before remembering it was the Kid. The Kaitou Kid. An illusionist. Someone gifted with words.

The other teen, waiting for him to realise what happened, had a snort of amusement when comprehension appeared on the boy's face but he didn't give him enough time to react.

"- Well, sorry Miss but we'll have to cooperate a bit if we all want to get out of here." He concluded as he changed back into the Kid's white suit in a flash. "I got my glider but there's no engine to it so no way I can take off. And even if we climbed a bit, I wouldn't be able to take you all with me...

\- And we can forget the exit through the mountain, when half of it almost fell on our heads..." The small detective added with a sigh while Ran paled as she heard him.

"- What happened ?

\- We kind of threw a grenade at that imposter... " The Thief answered with a touch of embarrass.

"- And the three of us got caught in the ceiling's collapse...

\- What ?!" The girl spurted once more, almost getting back to her idea of beating the teen to a pulp now that she had learnt he put Conan-kun in such a dangerous situation.

"- But thanks to the Kid, I didn't get hurt !" The boy précised, hiding his wounded wrist, wanting to take the Kid's side for once since he knew he wouldn't be in such a 'good' shape if the other hadn't protected him.

"- I wonder how that guy avoided it by the way..." Kaito declared as he looked at the unconscious man who was looking quite unarmed for someone who should have received heavy rocks on the head. "I blacked out a little while and when I woke up, this gentleman wasn't here anymore...

\- I think he used the "Sunflowers" 's case." The detective declared with a sign of the chin to the metallic case. "If he hid under it, he'd have avoided most of the debris.

\- You're probably right..."

Ran looked at both boys, not knowing if she was angry anymore, and a bit surprised to see the Kid and the Kid-killer doing so well together.

"- So, do we have any way out of here ?" She dared to ask, starting to need some fresh air despite the fact she wasn't claustrophobic.

"- There's that gate Tantei-kun mentioned..." The Thief remembered as he turned to the child.

"- Great..." Conan concluded with a sceptical look, wondering how two hurt teens, an unconscious male, the painting and the pint-size detective he actually was were going to force a metal gate underwater.

o.O.o

"- Ok, that guy will stay here time for us to come back." Kaito concluded as he finished tying the unconscious man. "I don't think he'd notice it anyway, his nap will last for a little while...

\- But I don't think the structure will hold on..." The small detective regretted as he looked up. "We need to take him with us.

\- Crap, we won't be able to drag everyone and everything with us... " The Thief pointed out with a pinch of annoy. "And we still need to find a way to destroy those metallic bars under water... My bombs aren't waterproof...

\- But your case is, right ?" The azure-eyed child proposed.

"- You're the intelligent one, aren't you ? " The teen mocked him with a smile. "I'm fetching it."

"- You're really sure we can trust him, Conan-kun ?" Ran asked as she came closer to the boy when she saw the Thief was going away.

"- It's not like we have any choice but I think he's sincere about getting us out of this mess. We'll get out of this together... But that won't stop me to go after him if he tries to steal anything else !" Conan added childishly to take the drama out of the situation.

"- You're keeping your objective in sight, my little Kid-killer..." The girl smiled as she ruffled his hair.

o.O.o

"- Ok, I think we're good." The Kid declared as he got out of the water.

The three of them had been swimming towards the part of the cave that was the closest to the lake, using the "Sunflowers" 's case as a support for their unconscious prisoner.

The Thief in white had put some C4 he found on the man in his mallet and was going to use the remote he had on him to trigger it from afar, he just had to put the metallic case against the bars and that's what he had been doing before getting out of the water.

"- Ok, I'm making it explode then." Conan declared as he took the remote that was on the canvas's case to keep it out of the water.

The water around them vibrated a bit seconds later, indicating the bomb had exploded. As to know if it had been enough to open a hole large enough for them, there was only one way to know.

"- Ok, I'll go back there to check if it worked..." Kaito volunteered before taking a deep breath.

He stopped just before diving when he heard a noise that wasn't auguring anything good. The three of them looked at each other before looking up and see that the ceiling of the cave was slowing starting to crack, definitively weakened by the explosion of the water tank.

"- We can't wait !" The bespectacled detective pointed out with a slightly panicked voice.

"- Let's go together !" Ran concluded as she looked at them with a worried face.

"- Go first, I'll deal with the ugly one !" The Thief decided as he grabbed the imposter.

"- But the "Sunflowers"...

\- I'm not really hurt, I'll be taking care of it" Conan proposed before another menacing cracking sound echoed. "Let's go and now !" He yelled when he saw the first important debris were starting to fall

The three of them had barely enough time to dive before a huge wave recovered everything.

o.O.o

Sonoko was now of the observation deck, still desperately looking for her best friend, when she felt the ground was shaking.

Turning to see what was happening behind her, she watched with widened eyes the conic shape of the water tank sink slowly into the ground and disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"- No way..." She said in a whisper as she paled several shades. "Ran, don't tell me... Oh Kami, please be safe..."

o.O.o

The girl wasn't hearing her best friend's prayer but she wasn't that far away : in fact, she was just under her feet, in the lake just below the observation deck, gulping for air after her little trip under water.

She soon was joined by the Thief and his prisoner, still out, but she started to worry when she saw Conan wasn't reappearing.

"- Come on, Miss, we need to get away, the wall is clearly going to crumble down ! " Kaito said with urge when he saw the cracks appearing on almost all the surface of the cliff in front of them.

"- But Conan-kun is...

\- No 'but's ! If he's not here, it means he's probably on the other side, we won't be able to help him if we're killed by those tons of rocks !"

 _"And Tantei-kun would kill me for it..."_ Kaito added for himself.

But the girl was still staring at the water between the cliff and them, clearly hoping for the boy to go out in any minute.

"- Listen, I don't want to have to drag two unconscious persons with me but I swear I'll use some sleeping gas on you if you don't come. We'll look for him but _after_ , ok ?"

Ran bit her lips with frustration before another menacing growl coming from the cliff finally brought some sense in the words of the Kid. Despite the guilt that turned her body as heavy as rock, she nevertheless obeyed to the Thief and turned around, fear for the boy wrapped around her heart, promising to herself she'd be back as soon as the situation would allow it.

 _"Hold on, Conan-kun..."_ She prayed.


	13. Chapter 12 - End of the tunnel

**Hi !**

 **Aaaand here is the last chapter ! Just on time for Shin's birthday ^^ Epilogue is included, else it would have been a too short chapter :3**

 **Well, that went quite fast, I'm not used to these not-28-chapters-long fics xD But I must admit it has been satisfying to be able to rewrite that movie as I wanted, using that damn lying trailer as a basis : )**

 **As always, if you liked that fic, don't forget to leave a comment !**

 **And thanks to the ones who have been following, favouriting and above all reviewing this story ! Special thanks to this time serial-reviewers : Boogum, emmahoshi, violet-snowflake and TheDarkKunoichi : D And to all the others who reviewed (see ? nothing to worry about, I always finish what I start ; ) )**

 **And thanks to Opal, as always the first victim of my crazy fics xD**

 **o.O.o**

 **Boogum : My fav' also : ) With perhaps angst-humour but that style is a bit more... special xD**

 **emmahoshi : Haha, sorry, I didn't want that (though, I must admit I'll be missing too my plot each time I'll look at this movie now *sighs*). Yea, "detective" is back ! xD While Conan is a bit more 'tsundere' than Heiji, I think the dynamic between those two would be indeed similar to the one Kaito and Heiji could have if they met one day ... : ) Maa, there has been some nice scenes of action also in DC, it's just that they are rare, while I only write that kind of story ; ) And don't worry, your review is already great and I wouldn't want you to be late because of me xD And OF COURSE next story is about Hattori ! :p It was strange enough for me to write a story without him so two in a row ? Never ! So expect to see our hot-blooded detective in one week or two in one of my fics ;)**

 **violet-snowflake : Haha, don't worry, not being a native, I know I'm also making a lot of mistakes so I'm not the kind to be picky about them ; ) And yea, I need to prove in almost each of my fics ran is useful. That lacks in the manga :p Hey, who do you think I am, I can't be that cruel with our favourite pint-sized detective xD**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 : End of the tunnel**

* * *

Conan was quite annoyed.

He had tried, not even minding his wounded hand, but nothing worked. That damn case was too big to be taken through the opening they made into the gate. And while the canvas itself would probably be small enough to go through, removing the case wasn't a possibility.

The bespectacled boy had given up and decided to go back, hoping the fall of the water tank didn't block the entrance to the cave.

Out of breath, using the case as a buoy, he had been able to surface, happy to see nothing had been stopping him from getting to the other side.

But the detective's joy had been short.

He was exactly in the same situation than ten minutes ago and that was pretty much getting on his nerves.

 _"Come on, there's probably another exit we didn't think about..."_ He ranted, trying to focus to find another way out.

Some long minutes passed, and the noises coming from the walls were more and more menacing, the azure-eyed child knew he had to decide and fast. His eyes fell once again on the artwork he was using to float. If he accepted the fact to let it behind him, he'd have his chance to escape through the metallic gate but it was taking the risk that this international treasure could be buried under thousands of tons of rocks, preventing forever for anyone to admire it, a thought that was quite nasty to him since it'd mean all his and the Kid's efforts would have been wasted.

If he could just take that damn case and throw it on its rails once again, so it would be taken to a safe place !

Conan's face lightened with that last thought. He had his solution !

Pushing on his improvised float, he kicked the water towards what was remaining of the museum.

o.O.o

Ran had been swimming, trying not to look behind her, trying to stop to think that each of these rocks she could hear falling into the lake could be the one ending Conan's life, before finally being able to reach on the bank of the lake.

She helped the Kid who was struggling with his prisoner before getting on her feet to lay worried eyes at the museum.

In a last quake, the top of the museum fell into the lake, too heavy for what was remaining of the cliff to support it anymore.

"- Conan-kun... !" The girl whispered as her eyes reddened, unable to keep the hope for anyone to be able to live to such a collapse.

"- I'm going to fetch him." Kaito declared as he put his hand on her good shoulder. "You, keep an eye on that man for me.

\- But I...

\- I'll be using my glider to go there faster and I don't think I can use it for the two of us. Leave it to me. Please."

Ran looked at him and saw, for the first time, how serious and worried he seemed, when the Kaitou Kid she had always seen was smiling and joyful.

At her nod, the Thief left, walking toward the mountain to be high enough to take off with his white wing.

 _"You'd better be alive, Tantei-kun..."_ The indigo-eyed teen pledged with a grave face.

o.O.o

With a smile, Conan noticed that, at last, his efforts were going to be useful. He had been able to go back into the tube of the museum, now that a part of it was almost touching the lake. Still with the painting, he had climbed up a bit to go to the first "Sunflowers" 's room and to sneak into the hole that was remaining where the painting had been.

The small detective had slid a few meters before ending once again in the water, but this time in a huge shaft that was supposed to lead to Jirokichi's vault.

Some debris here and there reminded the fact that the fake Kid had blown up a part of that shaft to get the second "Sunflowers" but the bottom part was there, still usable.

Though the boy knew there was a problem as soon as he felt he landed into the water. Part of the system was using water to send the paintings as soon as possible to the vault but the flow should have been strong, strong enough to carry along the canvas and their cases. Yet Conan was barely moving. And with such a feeble stream, even if he swam as fast as he could, he probably wouldn't have enough oxygen to reach the other side.

 _"So close..."_ He swore as he ruffled his hair.

The solution was simple : he needed to find a way to accelerate this stream. But, as simple as it was in words, there was nothing easy in implementing this idea...

The detective looked around him, trying to think about what he could use when...

"- The belt !" He yelled with a loud voice, too happy to finally have some hope.

If he used it to block the underwater tunnel for a little while with one of his inflatable soccer balls, he'd have the strong stream he was looking for as soon as he'd release it from the belt !

Taking a deep breath, the bespectacled kid dove into the water, dragging the "Sunflowers" along him before putting it a bit in front of him in the tunnel. He grabbed his belt and pushed the switch, allowing the ball to spread into the metallic shaft he was in and, as soon as it touched the sides of the tunnel, the level of the water lowered, finally allowing the boy to breathe.

Closing his eyes, Conan tried to calm his heart and to slow his breathing, time for the water to barely reach his ankles.

 _"Let's do this !"_ was the last thing he thought before being tackled by a strong wall of water that swept him away.

o.O.o

 _"Where are you... ?"_ Kaito asked with impatience as his look was focused on the water, doing his best to try to spot his little critic in the mess that used to be the Lake Rock Observatory but was just now a bunch of debris half recovered by the lake's water.

A smile appeared on his face when something yellow and shiny emerged from the water and caught his attention : the second "Sunflowers" 's case was just under him, its sunflowers facing the sun.

If the painting was here, Tantei-kun should also be around, the artwork clearly didn't found a way out on its own.

Without a second thought, Kaito dove in that direction and closed his gilder a few meters before hitting the water to have enough speed to look for the boy.

The choc brought back a throb in his head but the Thief didn't mind, he just wanted to find the boy and turned around, trying to spot his blue vest. He was starting to lack of air when he finally saw him, the bottom of his trousers caught into a broken metallic pole.

The Kid rushed to free him when he saw he was unconscious and he finally dragged him with him on a block from the cliff bigger than the others, its upper half above the water.

"- Oi, Tantei-kun, time to wake up..." Kaito called him, trying to friction him as he could to warm his cold body, the lake being quite cold. "Open your eyes, damn it..." He swore.

The indigo-eyed teen had been trained for first-aid interventions at school but between a dummy and a little boy, this wasn't the same thing at all and he wasn't sure he'd be able to help.

He nevertheless came closer to put his head against the boy's chest and to try to listen to his heart and lungs.

In a clumsiness that had everything to do with stress, his head hit harder that he expected the child's torso but that was for the best since he started to cough.

"- Oi, you ok ?" The Thief asked when he saw his eyes were opening and that he now seemed, after a short unsure moment, pretty much awake. "When will you understand that you're no gold fish ?" Kaito mocked, though he was unable to hide the relief in his voice.

"- I had to prove it... Proof through experimentation is important to us, detectives..." Conan joked with a smirk when he caught his breath and sat with the help of the other.

"- Well, next time, please experiment near of your girlfriend, I don't want my first kiss to turn into CPR to a guy...

\- Your first ?" The boy noted with a raised brow. "You're quite the cherry boy in fact, for a Casanova...

\- I don't want to hear that from you, Mr seven-year-old-body. Come, let's go back to comfort your Neechan." The Thief retorted with a smirk as he took the azure-eyed child to put him on the case and swim towards the bank.

o.O.o

Ran was looking in front of her, her arms crossed against her chest, ignoring the shivers which were going through her body due to her drenched clothes. She had seen the white glider from afar but that was already too long ago to her taste and she hadn't been able to see anything else since.

So when her eyes fell on the third inhabitant of the Agency as he waved at her, she immediately stepped back into the water to welcome them.

"- Conan-kun !"

The next thing the boy knew was that he was being hugged by the person the dearest to him.

"- I'm alright, Ran-neechan..." He finally said when he felt he turned as red as a tomato.

"- Nah, I'm sure you need to be hugged a bit longer, Tantei-kun..." Kaito mocked him, having noticed his embarrass.

At the Thief's comment, the girl's attention got caught by him and she finally let go of the azure-eyed child to come closer to the other.

"- I told you I'll bring him back !" He cheerfully pointed out, though he tensed a bit from having the girl so close to him, remembering her attack back into the cave.

"- I see that, thank you." Ran answered before grabbing him in a quick hug. "You deserved that one, for once, Kid."

Kaito smiled back at her, still surprised not to have any broken bone, before bowing in front of her. "It is an honour, My Lady."

"- I told you I saw her, she's here ! RAAAAN !" Sonoko yelled from where she was, a bit above them, on the mountain.

Seeing she wasn't alone at all, the Kid knew it was time for him to take his leave.

"- Promise me you'll tell me if you have any intel about the imposter's contractor, Tantei-kun !" He asked the small detective with precipitation. "Hey, I think I did quite my part today, so have a little recognisance !" He added when he saw the child was reluctant to answer him.

"- Ok, ok, promise..." Conan finally gave up at his puppy eyes.

The second after he left, Sonoko was throwing herself at her best friend's neck with tears in the eyes, totally ignoring the fact she was still half in the lake.

"- Hey, Sonoko." Ran softly said as she rubbed her back, trying to ignore the fact that enthusiastic tackle reminded her of her hurt shoulder.

"- I really thought for a while you were still in the museum, I was so afraid !" The girl admitted as she stepped away and rubbed her face. "But... you're hurt ?!

\- It's nothing...

\- Nothing ?! Look at you ! Someone call a medic !" She yelled at the group who was coming near of her.

"- I'm on it." Charlie volunteered.

"- Is it serious ?" Jirokichi asked as he came closer to his niece and her friend.

"- Nah, it's ok...

\- Good news. Oh, is that... the "Sunflowers" ?!" Jirokichi asked with hope when, after starting examining Conan, he noticed he was sitting on quite a familiar case.

"- Yes !" The child proudly answered, amused by the joy of the old man.

"- Well done ! You're living to your reputation of Kid-killer !

\- I had help...

\- That's still quite the achievement ! Come, let me help you !" The old Suzuki proposed as he grabbed the small detective and took the painting with the other hand.

Kogoro was now with Ran and Sonoko, a bit worried to see his daughter had been wounded.

"- You're ok, kid ?" The moustached man asked when he saw Jirokichi was holding him in his arms.

"- Yes ! Could you put me down now ?" He asked, starting to be embarrassed to be carried as a little child.

"- If you promise me you'll stay with your Neechan until your wounds are checked, ok ?

\- Haaaaai."

o.O.o

A little while later, the medics had tended the both of them and, as soon as he could escape from Ran's watch, Conan took his voice-changer bowtie and his phone out. It was time to use the intel he got from the Kid and his own deductions to explain the case to the police.

"- Megure-keibu ?

\- Ah, Kudô-kun ! It's been a long time !" The old officer pointed out, though his voice was warm. "How are you ? Nakamori told me you were helping on a case ?

\- Yes. Well, you've probably heard of that one, it's about the "Sunflowers"... "

o.O.o

"- Could you keep me informed if you get any information from our imposter ? I must admit I'm quite frustrated not to have the identity of our contractor..." The child concluded after he explained the case to the officer.

"- Of course, Kudô-kun. And once again thanks for your help ! There were indeed some things missing on our side... But to think that Kouji was the one who bombed the plane... Watch the quiet ones, they say...

\- Clearly. And anytime, Megure-keibu !" Conan concluded with a smile.

* * *

o.O.o A week later o.O.o

* * *

"- ... How's your head ?

\- Great. Your hand ?

\- Won't stop me from kicking bad guys' asses so I'm good."

A short silent felt between the two boys before Kaito finally interrupted it.

"- So, now that we are both sure the other is well, will you give me the information you promised me ?

\- Maa, to be honest, I don't think it'll be of any help to you...

\- Try me...

\- Ok, ok..." The small detective sighed, knowing he didn't want to reconsider his promise. "The contractor was a French collector living in Arles, Paul Géo. He was an admirer of this "Sunflowers" and wanted it to stay in France. That's how he met Kouji, they were both sharing the same kind of idealism... He was planning to buy it at the auction and your role would have been to steal it in the meanwhile, so he could get his money back. But Jirokichi bid for 300 millions before he could even get started so he had to rely on Kouji and hire someone else to do your job. You were there, right ? He was that middle aged blond-haired, with his hands full of rings, who bid for 50 millions.

\- Oh yea, I remember... So, what's the matter ? Since I guess at your tone there's a catch...

\- He's in France and we just have our imposter's testimony to extradite him, that clearly won't be enough. I don't think he'll pay one day for what he tried to do... It kills me to have to admit we can only give up. " The azure-eyed child declared with frustration.

"- You may give up but I won't.

\- Come on, Kid, the guy is in France...

\- Oh, that's not a problem for such an international thief as me, Tantei-kun...

\- Kid, just don't ...! The hell ?!" Conan swore when he heard the Thief had hung up.

The bespectacled boy face-palmed with a sigh. "That idiot..."

o.O.o

After a calm while, the small detective had thought the thief finally had noticed there was nothing he could do against that French criminal so it was with the biggest surprise he found a letter at his attention one day when he came back from school, a letter with some French stamps.

Conan got from the envelope a piece of a newspaper that he tried to decipher with the few French he knew with a frown.

 _"Un homme d'affaire suspecté de trafic d'art"_ was the title, "A businessman suspected of illicit art traffic"

The picture was showing a man whose head was half hidden with a cloth but this blond hair and the bunch of rings on the handcuffed hands of the man were enough to tell the boy he was looking at a picture of Paul Géo.

According to the article, the police had been called early a morning by his butler who asked for help as he heard a burglar breaking in. But when they arrived, there were no traces of any unwelcomed guest, though something else appeared.

Three something else in fact.

Three priceless artworks, stolen during the last ten years, and the owner of the house had been unable to explain why those paintings flew from his ultra secured vault to his garden, where they were disposed with quite a good taste.

No need to say the presence of these canvas and the absence of justification sounded quite suspect to the police and they had been quick to bring him back with them to the police station where he was still being interrogated. The paintings had been seized and sent to the Arles's Museum of Art, to the curator's greatest pleasure.

Conan was smiling when he finished his reading, recognizing the inimitable touch of the Kaitou Kid and his 'miracles'. And indeed, when he wanted to put the piece of newspaper back into the envelope, another paper fell, a card.

"I _never_ give up. KK."

* * *

 **And that's it ! And see you all soon ! I'll be back in a short time (and of course with my fav' character ; ), phew, it was so long without you, Heijiii ! :x)**

 **As always for last chapter, I'll answer by PM to registered reviewers and just here for the guests.**

 **Laters ! ; )**

 **o.O.o**

 **emmahoshi : Haha, yea, you said that, so I'm glad you managed to reach the end of this fic : ) Hmm, the plot was... distracting, we've seen pretty worse to be honest. But prefer mine ; ) Ah, since I also appreciate to picture that I think the fic after the next may be picturing that kind of bonding (heiji included of course ; ) ) because yea, it was indeed very fun to do : ) Nah, unfortunatly, he went straight to the south when I'm living near of Paris *sighs* maybe next time ? ; ) Yea, while Shin limits himself within the law, Kaito doesn't so he could have a solution when shin couldn't :) See you next story ! ^^**

 **Lucade : Thanks ! Ah, well, I didn't feel the need to describe every little detail and something could just be told instead of 'shown' so yea, this story has a more straightforward side (well, this is closer to my style). Hmm I reduced Charlie's role in that story so I didn't feel the need to put that scene. That's my point of view : ) But that's a moment I liked in the movie so if it's not here, it's more because it didn't fit what I wanted to show than I didn't like it : ) And thank you for your reviews ! ^_^ As to your PS : yea, would be a shame ! And since the anime movies' teams tend to be international, that would be a mess if they didn't speak a word of english xD**


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